


The Legendaries (Revisited): A Naruto Isekai

by Rose1991



Series: The Legendaries [1]
Category: Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Naruto, Naruto (Anime) RPF
Genre: &, 5 Main OCs, Adult Content, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ancient Prophecy, Awkward Romance, Awkward Sexual Situations, But Gaara is clueless when it comes to functional relationships, But the Suna Council's hypothetical baby peace treaty, Dragons, F/M, Falling In Love, Gaara's theme is What is Love, Isekai, Kakashi is withholding information, Kankuro & Kiba Bromance, Kankuro & Kiba are fuckboys with hearts of gold, Kankuro's one-night stands screw him up, Kazekage Gaara (Naruto), Kiba keeps getting in his own way, Lemon, Long Shot, Lots of Lemons, Love Triangles, Magical Realism, Multi, Naruto is Just Naruto, One Night Stands, Other, Prophecy, Romance, Shikamaru wants to settle down, The Council is pushing him to get married, Time Travel, Uchiha Sasuke Being an Asshole, Unrequited Crush, threw ShikaTema's relationship in the toilet, title is under threat, to produce a Kazekage heir
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-23
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:14:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 14
Words: 182,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21921994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rose1991/pseuds/Rose1991
Summary: "Fred? Fred!" someone hissed in Winnifred's ear, poking her harshly in the shoulder."What?" she grumbled, trying to go back to sleep."The sun's up. And I don't think we're in Pennsylvania."~*~*~Five girls from our world arrive on Konoha's doorstep with no clue how to return home. And when five dragons choose them as their masters, they begin to realize something bigger is at play.*Roughly 60-90 chapters. Part 1 is 25 chapters so far.
Relationships: Gaara (Naruto)/Original Female Character(s), Gaara/Matsuri (Naruto), Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke, Hyuuga Hinata/Uzumaki Naruto, Inuzuka Kiba/Original Female Character(s), Inuzuka Kiba/Tamaki, Kankurou (Naruto) & Original Female Character(s), Kankurou/Matsuri (Naruto), Nara Shikamaru/Original Female Character(s), Uchiha Sasuke/Original Female Character(s)
Series: The Legendaries [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1579618
Comments: 18
Kudos: 37
Collections: Time Travel and World Travel





	1. Prologue: The Prophecy

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Legendaries](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/544246) by Rose1991. 



> I originally wrote and published this story on FFN 10 years ago, with the last chapter of it published five or six years ago. I put the original story on hiatus, because after writing it for several years, I realized some of the characters had gotten so OOC, it needed a rewrite and restructuring. The story deserved it. It changed my life in a weird way, and I can honestly say I would not be where I am if it wasn't for writing and posting this story. And it's been fun returning to these characters and fleshing them out more fully. Especially now Shippuden has ended, and the Hiden novels, which play into this and change the path of the story significantly.
> 
> The story starts in between a few of the novels, several months before Naruto and Hinata's wedding (they aren't even dating yet). The pairings, since I couldn't put it in the summary or search keys are: Gaara/OC, Shikamaru/OC, Kiba/OC, Kankuro/OC, and Sasuke/OC.

Hashirama Senju was often deemed the wisest of ninja of his tribe, and eventually in the Konoha. It was how he was named Hokage when the tribes joined to create the first ninja village, an alliance he hoped lasted a long time. As the wisest man, leading a small, but growing, village of ninja, he had learned the value of listening to his advisors. Which is why he was found this dark and stormy evening, nearing midnight, in his office, reading over a scroll just rushed over by Mr. Youshida's scribe.

Mr. Youshida was a long-respected soothsayer for the Senju tribe. For the past fifty years, his prophecies advised the Senju clan, earning them long lasting alliances and prospering decades. His gifts informed them of pending famines and floods, as well as the rising strength of the Bijuu. It was under Mr. Youshida's wise council that Senju take a wife from the Uzumaki clan, which resided at the Southern border of his growing country. According to Youshida, the Uzumakis had a strong binding kekkei genkai that would make containing the strongest of the Bijuu easier.

But now, Mr. Youshida neared his ninth decade of life. His sight was gone, but his visions, he claimed, were more prevalent and vivid. And more bizarre, if Hashirama was to be asked his blunt opinion. But given Mr. Youshida's long standing respect among the Senju clan and the Leaf Village, Hashirama believed that no matter how bizarre the newest prophecies he'd eschewed were, they would eventually become true.

He looked at the scroll again, a frown settling over his face. "This is …" he trailed off, trying to think.

"It's Mr. Youshida's final prophecy. He said it was imperative I see that you got it," Mr. Youshida's scribe stated, giving Senju a small bow.

Hashirama shot the scribe a rueful expression. "But it makes no sense." He then read it out:

_"Five Ladies from another world_

_Each of hidden power._

_One is Fire_

_One is Water_

_One is Wind_

_One is Earth_

_One is Spirit_

_Each with creatures to help their cause._

_They come to help these chosen_

_Five men of strength and wisdom._

_One is Sand_

_One is Beast_

_One is Shadow_

_One is Manipulation_

_One is Sight_

_These ten will help the one of Nine_

_To defeat the darkness soon to take hold of the World._

_But these actions must first be completed_

_Otherwise we are doomed to fail._

_Fire must melt Sand_

_Water must capture Beast_

_Wind must intrigue Shadow_

_Earth must vex Manipulation_

_And Spirit must heal Sight_

_If the battle is won_

_These ladies will reign and be prosperous for many years._

_If not_

_Darkness will enslave the Earth_

_And all things good will disappear._ "

"Does this sound like a believable prophecy. Five girls from another world? You must be joking," Hashirama scoffed, tossing the scroll on his desk. His dark eyes settled on the scribe who only bowed again, respectfully. "And how do I prepare such a thing? Only a few of the powers listed for the men to possess could vaguely describe a few of the clans' kekkei genkeis. None of which Konoha has any dominion over." When the scribe didn't offer any advice or comment, Hashirama added, "So, what am I to do? Acquire these clans, and when the women decide to make their appearance, whenever the hell that is, arrange marriages?"

Again, Hashirama was met with a silent bow, and he huffed. "Say _something_."

"I'm sorry," the scribe offered. "I only write and deliver what he directs me to. He said it was imperative this was delivered before midnight."

Hashirama frowned at that detail. "Why midnight? That seems rather specific for something as vague as this." He held up the scroll to emphasize his point.

When the scribe only shrugged dumbly, Hashirama got up, a scowl settling on his face. "I guess I will ask him myself," the hokage growled, fastening the scroll to his belt. Hashirama stormed out, the scribe quickly on his heels as they walked through the village streets. The hokage found the Youshida complex, a small home nestled in a garden with orchids, a koi pond, and the steady tapping of a shishi odoshi. Hashirama banged on the door jamb, yelling, "Youshida! Youshida, explain yourself!"

The scribe ran past him, opening the door, calling out into the small house, "Mr. Youshida. Lord Hokage is here to see you." Hashirama followed the scribe down the hall, towards a room that he could only guess was Youshida's bedroom. "Mr. Youshida?" the scribe called again, kneeling next to his master. He nudged his master, only to stop as soon as his hand touched Youshida's skin. "He's cold."

Hashirama frowned, stepping closer. "Move," he ordered the scribe, who scrambled to the side as Hashirama knelt next to the soothsayer. The hokage reached down for Mr. Youshida's wrist, pressing his thumb into the vein. But there was no pulse. Hashirama dropped the wrist with a solemn frown. "He's gone." The scribe leapt forward, crying for his master as Hashirama stood, grabbing the scroll. He remembered the scribe had introduced it as Youshida's last prophecy. He cursed, realizing he should have known the soothsayer would know when he was to die. Meaning the prophecy could be decades, even centuries away. He let out a sigh, realizing what he must do. "Call a doctor," he ordered the scribe. The scribe looked at him confused as Hashirama held up the prophecy, stating, "I must attend this."

The hokage left into the darkness of the night, towards the Hokage's library of records and sacred texts.


	2. Chapter One: Wrong Turn

"How long do we have to wait?" Winnifred whined, sitting in the front seat … for now. Their friend Roxanne Turner had called shotgun when the plans for their month-long vacation were being made three weeks ago. Lynne Belfoco provided the suburban, and so was deemed the driver of the group. She was also the best driver of the group. Ronnie Buchanan, short for Veronica, even though she didn't look or act like a Veronica in the least, was to provide snacks and libations. Winnifred Buchanan, Ronnie's older sister, was tasked with being the back-up driver, being the oldest, and the second best driver of the group. Roxanne Turner, who was smack dab in the middle going by age in the group, was deemed the Navigator, since they were staying at the Turner's summer home in Maine, and no one wanted Cordelia navigating anything anywhere. And last of the group was Cordelia Turner, the youngest of all of them, who was in charge of entertainment.

Summer had just started for Ronnie and Cordi, who just graduated high school. This summer was the last they would be together really. Ronnie was going to start college in Florida to become a Marine Biologist. Cordi was about to start college in Georgia, at her mother's alma mater, to become something in law. Roxy was about to transfer to the university in Georgia with her sister, since the university offered her a scholarship she couldn't pass up. She was studying graphic design. Lynne was studying psychology three states away. And Winnifred had remained in their small hometown in the middle of Virginia, wondering when her life would start. She hated the idea of going to university, especially when she wasn't sure what she wanted to do in life. But her best friends were already chasing their dreams, and leaving her in the dust. Not that she'd voice this to any of them.

The big road trip was her idea, when she and Ronnie started talking about what they should do after she and Cordi graduated. A small girls' weekend quickly evolved into month long summer road trip featuring their squad when they realized both Lynne and Roxy would be back from college for the summer two weeks before.

"WOOOH!" Cordelia squealed at the top of her lungs from the driveway of the Turner house. "Yeah! Road trip!" She looked like a pack mule with all her bags hanging off her. Roxy stepped up behind her, carrying two less bags than her younger sister.

Lynne's eyes bulged at the luggage while Winnifred laughed, "You pack enough stuff?"

Cordi huffed her bags over to the car, straining as she said, "It's my philosophy that one should be prepared for anything." Winnifred raised an eyebrow at her as Cordi listed off, "I have books, movies, board games, music, and clothes for cold and hot weather. As well as manicure stuff, face masks, literally everything." She threw the last bag in the car as she stated, "I'm more prepared than a navy seal."

Rox frowned at her sister's boisterous tone. "Just get in the car," she mumbled, having loaded her stuff in already. She walked over to the front passenger seat, seeing Winnifred sitting in it. Roxy smirked. "I believe you're in my seat."

"Lynne, I think we need a ref call," Winnifred huffed. "Isn't it against the rules to call shotgun a week in advance?"

Lynne lifted her hands, shaking her head so much her dyed red hair fluttered around her, "Do not put me in the middle of this." After a few silent moments, Lynne let out a sigh, then said, "Although Roxy is the map."

Roxy smirked, holding the GPS up. "See? I'm the map."

Winnifred rolled her eyes, hopping out of the car, grumbling, "Fine! Whatever!" She moved to the back seat as Roxy got comfortable and began typing their destination into the GPS.

"You text us when you get there!" Mrs. Turner called out. She and Mr. Turner stood just past the garage door to wave their daughters off.

"Will do!" Roxy called back. She and Cordi waved at their parents as Lynne started the engine. "Love you!" they called to their parents as they set out of the driveway, and down to the main drag.

They didn't stop again until it was nearing time for dinner. They stopped quickly, wanting to get back on the road as soon as possible, and Winnifred took over while Lynne rested her sore shin. Then they continued their journey. Their music was still blaring over the commands of the GPS. And they played games like I Spy, Twenty Questions, and the License Plate Game. It was going to be a sixteen hour drive. They'd reached the middle of Pennsylvania around midnight, and they decided to keep going through, even though both Lynne and Fred were tired.

It was one forty a.m. when Winnifred declared, "That's it. I'm falling asleep at the wheel. We're pulling off."

Rox lifted the GPS, tiredly. She'd been dozing as well, and let out a yawn as she said, "I'll see if I can find us a hotel."

"Recalculating," the GPS said. They didn't hear it say anything else. After ten minutes of "Recalculating," Winnifred snapped, "Look, we're in the middle of nowhere. I'm about to fall asleep, which would be disastrous. I think it's best if we just pull off on the side of the road, and sleep in the car until sunrise." She was met with a chorus of, "Alright." So, Winnifred pulled the car over, and they slept in the car. When the GPS said "Recalculating" one last time, Fred unplugged it, then went right back to sleep.

* * *

"Fred? Fred!" someone hissed in Winnifred's ear, poking her harshly in the shoulder.

"What?" she grumbled, trying to go back to sleep.

"The sun's up. And I don't think we're in Pennsylvania."

Winnifred groggily opened her eyes, seeing in fact the sun had risen and they were surrounded by rice fields. Winnifred frowned, rubbing her eyes as she sat up. She noticed it was Lynne who had poked her awake. Lynne had grown up in Pennsylvania before moving to Virginia with two years left of high school. If there was anyone familiar with the Pennsylvania horizon, it was her.

Winnifred licked her mouth, noting it tasted like ass. Damn morning breath. "Where are we?" she groaned.

Lynne shook her head. "Beats me. But I know for a fact Pennsylvania isn't rolling with rice fields. Corn, maybe. But rice, definitely not."

Winnifred turned the GPS back on, tapped in the last address, which was the Turner Summer home. The GPS stated loudly, "Recalculating."

Rox, Cordi, and Ronnie all groaned, "Shut it up!"

Winnifred frowned when the GPS again said "Recalculating," and was again met with groans. The other girls were now starting to sit up, and glare at her, as she pulled out her phone. No bars. It wasn't even registering the time. Fred frowned, "What … the … Hell?" She got out of the car, lifting her phone up like she was Rafiki and her phone was Simba. No reception at all. But even so, her phone should still register the time for where they were. She looked around seeing only rice fields, mountains, and a forest not far off. Under her feet, she heard the crackling of loose stones, and she looked down. The road they were on was a gravel road, even though the road was paved the night before. And last night, weren't they driving with fields on one side and a forest on the other? Where was that forest?

She checked behind the car, and it wasn't the landscape she remembered. It looked like off in the distance was mountains and rice fields. She looked back to her friends who were all seriously confused as hell.

"Where are we?" Roxanne asked, stepping out of the car.

"Lost," Cordi replied sarcastically.

"Thanks for the input," Roxy snarked, rolling her eyes at her little sister.

"Weren't we on a paved road last night?" Lynne asked, looking directly at Fred, who only nodded her answer.

"Was that a rhetorical question?" Cordi asked, not seeing Fred's agreeing nod.

"No, I was serious," Lynne replied in an angered tone. "And Fred thinks so, too!"

"Well, I thought we were, but apparently not," Ronnie added, her lips forming in a strange purse as she tapped the dirt road with her foot.

Suddenly they spotted a man with a bag on his shoulders walking along the road. They quickly rushed over to him. He was old, about in his sixties.

"Excuse me, sir" Ronnie piped, smiling as amiably as possible. She could pull off innocent better than any of them in the group, and it was best not to scare off this old man, who if Cordi was to judge, was dressed rather archaically. "We're kind of lost. Would you mind pointing us in the direction of a local town, or at least how to get back to the highway?"

The man looked slightly confused, but he replied, "I don't … know what a highway is… but if you follow this road, and it will lead you to the closest village, which is just past those trees."

The five girls' eyes widened at this. Who didn't know what a highway was? The man continued on his way, and the girls thanked him. They quickly jumped in their car, earning a weird look from the old man, and drove off. Lynne drove this time, stating Fred driving was what got them lost. It took them five minutes to reach the village, but it wasn't really a village. It was a rather large town, almost city. And the road led them through big huge doors right to an opening of a ton of different little streets where people would be walking if they weren't busy staring at their car.

Lynne suddenly turned off her car and got out, her eyes huge as if she had seen this place before, but couldn't believe it. She got out of the car first, almost catatonically looking around as she breathed, "Oh my God." The other four quickly got out and started their normal pestering for information.

"Lynne, what is going on?" Cordi asked.

"Yeah, what's with all the people looking at us like we're some kind of alien race?" Fred asked.

"You guys don't recognize it?" Lynne asked incredulously, gesturing towards the large gate they drove through.

Everyone looked around and Ronnie shook her head. Fred frowned, looking closely at the large gate, asking, "Jurassic Park? I don't know." Then Roxanne gasped loudly when she realized where they were.

"But this is impossible," Rox whispered to herself.

"What's impossible?" Ronnie asked.

"We're in Konoha," Lynne and Rox explained.

"Holy shit!" Cordi exclaimed to herself seeing the resemblance in the setting of the cartoon and where they were currently.

"Where?" Fred asked. Of the five of them, she was the only one who had never looked at a volume of Naruto. When it came to anime, she preferred her Gundams. But she recognized the town's name from the years of discussions over the lunch table.

Cordi shrugged, "Well, this can't be real. This has to be some sort of replica some billionaire built or some shit."

"A billionaire who's a fan of Naruto, really?" Lynne offered.

Cordi looked at her pointedly. "Then you explain it."

"Yeah, I don't believe it either," Ronnie replied skeptically.

"Believe what?" a man walking closer to the group said. He had short spiky blond hair held in a black headband tied around his forehead with an iron plate and a swirly leaf engraved on it. His cerulean blue eyes were full of curiosity and a bit of arrogance. He wore a black shirt and orange capris, and on his right leg was tied a kunai pouch. But the most telling feature was the six whisker lines on his face, three on each cheek starting at his laugh-line, then spreading to the apples of his cheeks.

The man looked at each girl, fully taking in their features. Cordi had stick straight long dirty blond hair with brown, almost black eyes. She wore a fitted forest green tank-top – accentuating her hourglass figure – flared blue jeans, and black ballet flats. Fred had chin length brown hair and sparkling green eyes. She wore a lime green t-shirt with a turtle print on it, a short blue jean skirt – showing off her skinny figure – and green flip-flops. Lynne, who also had a thin figure, wore a patterned thinly-fabricated tank, with shorts, and white ballet flats. She had flaming red hair down to her jaw that held a beachy sort of wave and bright blue eyes, with small tinges of a golden brown ringing the pupils. Ronnie was similar to Cordi, except her hair was a little bit darker and had the natural beach wave, and her eyes a little bit lighter, almost a caramel brown. She also had an hour-glass figure, but she was thinner than Cordi. She wore a hot pink t-shirt, light, flared blue jeans, and black laced flats. Rox was similar to Fred in figure, but a little less thin and shorter. She had dark brown eyes with a slight tinge of red in them, and wavy brown, almost black, hair. She wore a purple fitted tank, ripped flared jeans, and black flip-flops.

"So who the hell are you?" the man asked, looking at them each carefully.

Lynne pointed at him, saying breathily, "Either that's really Naruto … or …" She trailed off, her eyes big and full of hope as he replied.

"How do you know my name?!" Naruto asked, obviously freaked.

"Oh, ha ha, it's long story," Fred laughed nervously, covering for Lynne as she waved him off. She leaned over to the eldest of the group, hissing in Lynne's ear, "He's clearly a crazy person, and this is probably some sort of weeaboo cult. We need to go."

"Yeah, you probably wouldn't believe us if we told you," Cordi forced a grin, overhearing and agreeing with Winnifred's sentiment, making a motion for Ronnie behind her to get back in the car. Naruto looked like he wasn't buying it.

"Oi! Naruto!" someone called from off to the side. They all looked over and saw two people who looked oddly like Shikamaru and Ino. He wore his usual all black with a green vest over it. He had his black hair tied back in the usual pineapple ponytail. His brown eyes held boredom and annoyance in their gaze, as his thin eyebrows showed his obvious indifference. And Ino was in her standard purple belly shirt with a matching skirt that went down to her calves, but she now wore her blonde ponytail down, and her bang hung over one eye.

Rox began fainting, only to be caught by Cordi, who quickly pushed her back upright. The man who looked like Shikamaru frowned, asking, "Who are they?"

"I dunno'," Naruto replied, turning back to them with a curious expression.

The girls stared at them silently for a minute. Cordi couldn't help but think the phrase "Deer stuck in headlights" was probably an apt description. "Who? Us?" She pointed at their group awkwardly. Naruto and Shikamaru each nodded, eyeing them with a mix of annoyance and curiosity. "Well," Cordi started, nervously, since no one else was talking, "I'm Cordelia … I mean Cordi. This is Winnifred, or Fred." Winnifred scowled at her as Cordi introduced them. Cordi shrugged. _What am I supposed to do, figure out fake names?_ Her friends knew she couldn't lie. So she continued, pointing each one out as she went, "That is Lynne. And that is Ronnie. And Miss Can't-Figure-Out-How-To-Breathe-Right," she emphasized each word by elbowing her sister's side until Roxanne took a deep breath, "is my older sister, Roxanne, but we sometimes call her Rox," Cordi quickly added. Each of them gave Naruto a winning smile, who only returned it with a quizzical look.

"You have such strange names, and weird machines," Shikamaru stated, gesturing towards the car. His gaze narrowed on them for a second as he thought. "The Hokage's going to want to know about this." He scratched his head under his ponytail, grumbling, "Man, what a drag." He whispered something to Ino, who nodded, lifting her hands in a simple handseal and disappeared in a poof of smoke, which left the girls all staring with their jaws on the floor.

Lynne was the first to recover from the shock as she stated, "Well, that settles _that_."

Shikamaru turned to them with a bored frown. "Well, my name is …"

"Shikamaru Nara," Cordi, Rox, and Lynne answered together. Cordi shrugged, as she added inexplicably, "We know. And that was Ino Yamanaka." She visibly gulped as the words left her lips. _This is real._

Shikamaru's brow furrowed then said, "Please, come with me."

He turned to lead them away, but Cordi stopped, raising her hand quickly. "Uh, please give me a minute! I need to grab something." Before anyone could say anything, she sprang back towards the car, reaching in the backseat and pulling out a backpack which she slung over her shoulder. The backpack was clearly heavy, but she was able to run back into place. "Thanks. Just needed to grab some books." Shikamaru frowned, but turned as he led them towards the Hokage's office.

Naruto followed, falling in step with Cordi who led the group. "I take it from your expressions earlier, you've never seen jutsus performed."

Cordi eyed him strangely before pursing her lips and gulping, "Not really, no. They aren't all that commonplace where we're from."

Naruto smiled easily at her. "And where's that?"

Cordi looked back at the group. Lynne who walked immediately behind her just shrugged. "Virginia?" Cordi answered. She was never good at lying.

Naruto frowned. "I've never heard of Virginia. Is that somewhere in the Samurai states?"

Cordi tugged at her earlobe, shaking her head. "I-I think it's further out than that."

"Really?" Naruto asked, now really interested in this strange new land she spoke of.

He opened his mouth to ask about it, but she cut him off. "I was wondering," Cordi started, "Is Lady Tsunade still in office, I mean, Hokage?"

Naruto gave her a short glance, then turned and looked ahead. "Uh, no. She hasn't been hokage in two years."

"Oh," Cordi chirped. _I hope Danzo didn't replace her permanently,_ Cordi thought. Her heart pounded in her chest at the thought. In the comics, they were just reaching the first Five Kage Summit, and while Danzo was clearly the obvious choice, everyone knew he was evil. And trying to convince him five girls from a land that didn't exist in the ninja world weren't a threat to Konoha was definitely going to be impossible. Again, she shot a look back to Lynne and Rox, both avid readers of the comic, who were clearly thinking the same thing.

* * *

They had finally reached the Hokage's office after a trek that seemed to last forever. Cordi had dodged all of Naruto's questions about their homeland of Virginia as best she could. Shikamaru had told Naruto it was best he introduce them to the Hokage, given their special bond and whatnot, which gave the girls pause. The new Hokage was not Danzo.

Naruto shrugged, then knocked on the door loudly. Inside they heard a cool voice reply, "Enter."

Naruto opened the door, and as they followed him in, they saw a man with spiky gray hair and a mask over all of his features except his black eyes, one of which showed a scar going down over it. Cordi felt her jaw drop as she balked at Kakashi behind the Hokage desk. Lynne was the first to say a small, "Oh my God," through her hands over her nose and mouth, while Rox breathed a small, "Really?"

Naruto frowned at their reactions before stating, "These girls just showed up in the village from someplace called 'Virginia.' Do you know where that is?"

Kakashi frowned as he looked at the girls who stared back at him wide-eyed, except the green-eyed girl, who looked on uninterested. He raised one of his eyebrows and asked, "And this was so important, you felt the need to interrupt my lunch meeting?" He asked it so coolly, but the edge was very clear.

Naruto scratched his head as he stated, "Well, I've never heard of that place, so I believe so, and so does Shikamaru." Kakashi's gaze swept to the side past Naruto's jutted thumb, seeing Shikamaru give a half-hearted salute from behind the group. Naruto continued, "See these girls arrived here in a strange contraption. It's a box with wheels and …"

"That's called a carriage, Naruto. A lot of people have them," a woman stated haughtily with a frown. The group of girls looked over to the other side of the room, and Cordi's breath audibly caught in her throat. The woman in question was blonde with pigtails, wearing a white blouse, navy blue skirt, and a gray overlay with the red obi tying over it, which tied her giant fan to her back. It was impossible to think she was anyone other than Temari, especially when the man next to her had vibrant auburn hair, seafoam green eyes that were ringed with black lines, and the kanji of "love" sitting prominently on his forehead where his hair parted. He wore a burgundy red button up shirt with silver buttons and a high collar, and similar color pants, as well as a thick brown belt around his hips, with a small sand gourd hanging casually. Cordi reached around, grabbing her sister's hand who squeezed her hand back tightly. _Yes. This is real._

Naruto scowled at the interruption, adding, "Except their so-called 'carriage' was made of metal, and wasn't pulled by anything. It was kind of like the Thunder rail system. But it's only one cabin."

Lynne blinked at them as she asked, "When you say rail system, it sounds like you're talking about a train. Right?" Everyone frowned at her, before she added to the other girls, "Trains didn't exist yet in comics."

Fred gave Lynne a strange look, then looked at the ninjas in the room as she said, "Wait a goddamned minute. You mean to tell me we're stuck in a world where trains and cars aren't even a thing!?"

Lynne scowled back at her, and hissed, "Don't say that like it's my fault! You were the one driving the car!"

Fred shot her an incredulous look as she turned to the second eldest of their group. "No, we were in Pennsylvania when I pulled off the highway. Amish country it may be, but even they know what the fuck a car is."

Cordi looked at the ninjas who looked on at Lynne and Fred's argument with interest. Cordi gave them a nervous smile as she said, "We were on our way to our family's summer home," she gestured to Rox as she mentioned their destination, "and got very _VERY_ lost."

"Very lost is an understatement," Rox said through pursed lips and raised eyebrows.

Fred's green eyes landed on her best friend as she added, "Says the navigator of the group."

Rox's brown gaze locked with hers as she snapped back, "The GPS was working fine until you said you were pulling off the highway to find a hotel."

That did it. Suddenly, all three of the older girls were bickering back in forth about whose fault it was, while Ronnie and Cordi both looked at their friends dismayed, although Cordi looked more and more annoyed. She looked over at the ninja who also looked confused at the spectacle. Cordi pinched the bridge of her nose as the older girls entered the hair pulling part of the fight. Her fists clenched as she snapped, "ALRIGHT! KNOCK IT OFF!" The older girls paused as Cordi grumbled in a huff, "I swear, sometimes with you three it's like herding cats." The three older girls balked at her annoyed tone, Fred recovering first to snap back at her, but Cordi turned back around, throwing a hand back to silence her friend, and face Kakashi as she said, "Alright, I'm going to go ahead and explain the extent of what we know happened, and I'm just going to warn you that it's likely to sound utterly and absolutely batshit crazy. But I promise it's the truth."

If Kakashi wasn't interested before, he was now. He leaned forward just slightly, bringing his hands together in the slightest show of earnest.

She dropped her backpack in front of her and dropped to her knees. Several of the ninja tensed, until she added, "I brought proof what I'm about to say is true." She pulled out a paperbound book with a white cover. She clutched it to her chest as she stood. "Where we come from, all of this," she gestured to the whole room now as she said it. "I-it's a series of comics. It's all fiction." This earned some skeptical stares. She jutted the comic forward as she said, "Here. I brought a volume with me to read on the ride, since it was going to be sixteen hours."

Kakashi's gaze narrowed skeptically at her, but held out his hand. She put the book in his hand, and he eyed the cover. It was a drawing of Naruto in his old gear standing in the forefront, and behind him were old Akatsuki members, Deidera, Sasori, and Zetsu in the background. Kakashi frowned further as he opened it and started flicking through the pages.

"It's the last part of the Kazekage Rescue Mission," Cordi stated, her gaze flicking over to Gaara. The Kazekage just scowled more intensely at Cordi. She smiled nervously, averting her gaze from his eerie seafoam glare, trying to scoot back a little from him. "Where we're from, ninjas don't exist. Chakra and magic aren't real. Neither are demons, or tailed beasts. I don't know how, but somehow, we've found ourselves in an alternate dimension or another world from the one we're used to where everything in that series of Comic books is real. I'm not sure how else to explain it." As Kakashi flicked through the comic book, Cordi heard herself say, "Please don't loose my spot," then frowned, realizing the thought was ridiculous. _I know you're verifying that this is really your life printed on a page, but can you not lose my spot in reading about your private and personal life._

After a beat of silence, Naruto asked, "You're serious?" Although he sounded more excited by the prospect.

The rest of the girls nodded simultaneously.

Kakashi gave an intrigued shrug, then held the book out to Gaara. The Kazekage reached for it, his expression resolutely pokerfaced as he also inspected the cover.

Kakashi turned to Shikamaru, and asked, "Shikamaru, bring me Hinata." Shikamaru gave a small nod, then poofed away.

Gaara opened the first couple pages of the comic book. His jaw twitched as he flicked through it, most likely because he saw his dead body drawn while the leaf ninja and Akatsuki fought over him. Gaara nodded and asked, "But how is this possible?" They looked at the group of girls who just shrugged.

Naruto snatched the comic book from Gaara's hands, flipping through it. Gaara seemed unfazed by Naruto's action as he giggled, "Hey. It's even named after me."

"We just took a wrong turn," Lynne tried to explain. "We were on a trip …"

"A last 'hoorah' before we all go our separate ways in life, if you will," Winnifred offered. Suddenly, she was uncomfortable by the shift in focus on her as she continued in a mousy tone, "We pulled off to find a hotel and got lost."

"If you ask my opinion, I think we drove through a portal to an alternate dimension, thus landing here," Ronnie offered. She shrugged as she offered, "That doesn't explain the why or how, though."

That remark earned a contemplative stare from Gaara. Kakashi shrugged and stated, "It has our fight with Deidera down to the letter."

Naruto giggled still flipping through it fascinatedly, "And it's named after me."

"Well, yeah," Lynne replied, her gray blue eyes shooting over to the annoying blonde and rolling her eyes. "You are the main character. It starts with your graduation from the Ninja Academy, and the last chapters out feature the beginning of the five Kage summit in the Land of Iron. It's been running for about ten years now."

Gaara looked to Kakashi, and asked, "What do you think?"

"I don't know," Kakashi answered, his gaze narrowing on the girls. "I think Hinata's opinion will greatly shed light on the situation."

A few moments later, Shikamaru came in with Hinata Hyuga. "You wished to see me, Lord Kakashi?"

Kakashi gave a nod to the girls, stating, "I'd like you to use your Byakugon on these women to inspect them of any chakra irregularities."

"What? You think this is a genjutsu or something?" Lynne asked. Hinata already started using her power, inspecting the girls with a frown, while the other ninja tensed at the mention of genjutsu.

Kakashi's gaze flicked to Lynne as he asked, "What do you see, Hinata?"

"Nothing," she breathed, but there was a hint of worry in her tone. "Lord Kakashi, these girls don't have chakra networks."

The ninjas tensed again as Cordi quickly stated, "I told you chakra doesn't exist where we're from. This isn't a trick. I promise you." She could tell by Kakashi's look and the stances the ninjas around them were now taking they were very suspicious. Why wouldn't they be? Five strange girls just showed up on their doorstep, claiming to be lost from another world. It was ridiculous.

"I think they are telling you the truth," Hinata said. Cordi turned to her, her eyes wide with hope. Hinata stepped forward toward Kakashi as she stated, "While they don't have chakra networks, I can tell they are real." Kakashi leaned forward, his eyes full of shock as she continued, "And while I don't see any chakra in them, there is something within them I can't put my finger on."

Kakashi gave a small nod. _So, they were telling the truth._ Kakashi turned to the group of teenage girls and asked, "Do you know how to get back to your home?"

"Uhm," Fred started looking at the other girls, who were all shaking their heads. "No. I think we've already established, we'd need magic to get back to our world, which we don't have. Not to mention, our navigation equipment doesn't work here."

Kakashi frowned, "You must have something. Some ability that got you here in the first place."

The girls shook their heads. Cordi offered with a sigh, "I think best guess is wrong place, wrong time."

Kakashi nodded, eyeing each of the girls carefully. "You think this might be the work of the Otsutsuki Clan?" Gaara asked. The girls all frowned at that. _Who the fuck were the Otsutsuki?_ "They all possess the power to travel between worlds."

"It's possible, but it's completely without logic," Kakashi stated. His gaze trained on each of the girls as he added, "Why would they bring five girls from a world where chakra doesn't exist?" He pinched the bridge of his nose, then let out a sigh. "Naruto, Hinata, thank you. I'll have Shikamaru assist with anything final."

Naruto frowned, knowing they were about to discuss something important, but the look Kakashi gave him told him to leave. He let out a sigh, then turned to Hinata, "Come on, Hinata. Let's go get some ramen." The girls turned to watch Naruto and Hinata with bated breath.

"Wh-what? Naruto?! But – !" she gasped as he grabbed her wrist and dragged her out of the office.

There was a long silence before Cordi jutted her thumb over her shoulder towards the office door an asked, "Have they started dating yet?"

Kakashi looked at them puzzled. "Uhm."

"I have money on them being endgame," Cordi stated with a serious frown.

Lynne rolled her eyes, and added with a sigh, "I told you, he's never gonna' get over Sakura."

"Yeah? Well, clearly it's been a while since the comic happened. So maybe in that time …" Cordi added with a shrug.

"I'm getting high school cafeteria flashbacks," Fred muttered to Rox who nodded with pursed lips, who only answered with a small, "Mhmmm."

"Next thing you know, they'll start debating who has the most tragic backstory," Ronnie muttered. She rolled her eyes with a sigh, and stepped between Cordi and Lynne, calmly stating, "Come on guys. We've got bigger things going on."

Lynne and Cordi straightened up, looking back at Kakashi. Shikamaru scratched his head, muttering, "Oh, man."

Kakashi looked at the girls tiredly. This was going to be a mountain of paperwork. He was sure of that. He let out a sigh. "As I was about to ask, did any of you see anything when you crossed over? A black hole? Or someone dressed in white?" They all shook their head, and he let out another huff. "Who was leading your group at the time?"

"Fred."

"Fred?"

"Fred!"

"Fred…"

Each one came out staggered and in different tones, but close enough that it was difficult to differentiate who said what. They all turned to the girl with silky black hair and vibrant green eyes with the turtle shirt, who let out a nervous, "Uh … well…" She poked her index fingers together awkwardly.

"Fred was driving the car," Ronnie stated helpfully.

Fred scowled at her little sister. "Thanks," she growled. She turned to the ninjas who all looked at her with piercing glares. She straightened her back, looking them directly in the eye. "Well," Fred started, "When we got lost, it was around two o'clock in the morning. So, low visibility. Wouldn't see a black hole. Also, they're invisible technically." The words tumbled out of her quickly as she got the story rolling, finishing with a shrug and a "What'cha gonna do?" expression.

"What are we going to do with them?" Shikamaru asked.

The Hokage frowned and stated, "Well, here's the issue with housing. Currently we only have enough room in our ninja dorms for four people, which I can give to you _if_ you're a ninja or training to be a ninja. I'm assuming that none of you have money in our currency. Am I correct?"

The girls gave solemn nods, except Fred who said, "Not unless you guys take debit or credit cards." This again earned confused glares. She let out a sigh as she said, "No. We have money for our world. We don't have fictional ninja money."

Kakashi shrugged, looking up as if this was such a meddlesome issue, adding, "I can put you in the dorms if you sign up for the ninja academy. Beyond that, my hands are tied. And the fifth girl, I have no idea what to do with." He held his hands out in a mea culpa, looking at each of the girls who looked amongst themselves, trying to figure out who would be the odd man out. Kakashi's gaze shot over to Gaara, adding, "What do you think Gaara? Given the absurdity of the situation, surely, you have an opinion."

Gaara gave a small frown, stating, "Instituting them as ninja would give you better observation of their movements. If they are part of another Otsutsuki plot, that would be the best way to find out."

Kakashi eyed him closely. "And the housing issue?"

Gaara looked at the girls, and only one held his gaze with earnest. She had dirty blond hair the color of shifting sands. Dark brown eyes, unwavering underneath long eyelashes and dark eyebrows. She was pretty, he'd give her that, with full lips as red as his cactus blooms. But something in her stare caused his heart to jolt. He couldn't move his eyes from hers. It was such a strange feeling. Gaara suddenly said, "We should offer our assistance. Even if it only need be for a little while."

"Gaara!?" Temari hissed. Clearly, she thought it was a bad idea.

"We can house one of the girls until they find their way home," Gaara offered. "In Suna, if you need."

Honestly, he wasn't sure what possessed him to suggest it. It was that glimmer in her eye. It stirred something in him.

Roxanne pursed her lips, looking over to Cordi who actually seemed to be thinking it over. "Huddle," she ordered to her friends. And they got together quickly and discussed their options, Cordi only joining them after being yanked by her sister.

"I know you're thinking about taking that offer," Roxanne hissed disapprovingly.

Cordi looked at her as if she was crazy. "Of course I'm thinking about it." Roxanne scowled at her as she whispered, " _The_ Gaara of the Sand just offered to let me live with them!" Roxanne still scowled. "Come on!"

"No," Roxanne growled. "This romantic image you've built of him in your head doesn't exist. It's not going to be like Beauty and the Beast. You'll probably never see us again. Think about that." Cordi scowled at her older sister who scowled back as she said, "You know I'm right. Don't do something stupid. We can figure something out." She let out a huff as Cordi looked away, her lips pursed. Cordi's gaze fell on Gaara who watched them with only slight interest. Rox turned to Winnifred, asking, "What if we offer to conserve rooms, by having sisters bunk up."

Winnifred shrugged. "We'll be at each other's throats, as will you be. But other than that …?"

"Cordi can bunk with me," Lynne offered. She was an only child, and didn't know what it was like to share a room, but she'd always wondered.

Rox leveled a gaze on her, "Cordi snores really bad, and I know how much of light sleeper you are."

Lynne shot her a look, offering, "Then you. Technically, we only need one pair to bunk up."

Roxanne pursed her lips then nodded. "Ok. I'll bunk with Lynne, and Fred, Ronnie and Cordi will get the singles." She turned to Cordi starting, "And I don't want to hear any …" she cut herself off as she saw Cordi step away from the huddle up to Gaara, saying, "I'm your girl."

"What!? Cordi, no!" Rox snapped.

"Uh," Gaara breathed, a little floored that one of the girls just jumped on his offer so willingly. He felt Temari shooting him a sideways glare, but he remained resolutely pokerface.

"Cordi, that wasn't what we agreed on!" Fred shrieked.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures," Cordi replied, her gaze not leaving Gaara's. Her resolute stare unsettled him a little.

"So you're going to break up the group when we had a plan?" Roxanne asked.

Cordi frowned, then turned to Kakashi and asked, "Lord Hokage, the rooms available, are they big enough to house two people?"

Kakashi frowned, his fingers steepled. "No."

Cordi turned back to her friends, gesturing to Kakashi. "See, this is our only option. And out of the five of us, who knows Suna better than me?"

They were silent for a little while until Ronnie asked, "So you're just going to leave us? What happened to the last hoorah?" She sounded lost as she asked it.

Cordi frowned, "Well, that plan's already been shot in the face. I don't see another option. So I'll go to Suna."

"And burn like a crisp," Rox muttered, eyeing her sister with annoyance. "Did you think of that? I know what you look like after five minutes at the beach. What do you think the desert is?"

"I did pack a lot of sunscreen," Cordi added. Then with a beaming smile said, "See, more prepared for anything than a navy seal." Rox rolled her eyes, looking away. Cordi frowned and said, "I've made up my mind. I'll send letters and come by to visit. It's not the end of the world." Ronnie walked up and gave her a teary hug.

"We'll miss you, a lot!" Ronnie said, the others sniffling in agreement.

"I'll miss you too." Cordi said, a small sniffle escaping as well. She looked back at Gaara and asked, "So when do we leave?"

Gaara had the most confused face that he was obviously trying to hide. "We have a week and a half. The finals of the Chuunin exams begin the fifth of July," Gaara said steadily.

Then all the girls straightened. "So, we have time?" Lynne asked hopefully. Gaara gave them a nod with a look that was kind of surprised they didn't see the obvious.

"That means the housing issue is still an issue," Kakashi stated boredly.

"She can stay with us in our hotel." Gaara didn't know what was possessing him to say all this. He didn't want a stranger staying with them, but the look in her eyes made him feel like he was either kicking a puppy, or an amazing hero, depending on his offers. "Is that all right?" Gaara asked, keeping his tone even as he chanced a look back at her. A chance he regretted. She positively beamed at him, and he felt his heart flutter. _What the fuck was that?_

"Good," Kakashi said, smiling. "Now that that's settled, and I guess our meeting is over?" He turned to Gaara with the question, who gave a small nod. "Why don't you join us for lunch?"

"Sure," the girls cheered simultaneously again.

"Come with me," Kakashi directed the group, walking out of her office and down towards the dining hall. Everyone sat down, Kakashi at the head, Gaara to his right, and Temari next to him, then Shikamaru. On his left sat Cordi, then Ronnie, then Lynne. Then at the other head was Rox, and in between her and Lynne was Fred. The group was served plates of Lo Mein, Fried Rice, Yakiniku steak, sushi and dumplings.

Everyone at in silence, Ronnie, Cordi and Fred struggling a little with the chopsticks, but eventually being able to grasp a few things, but not the rice. "So, how old are all of you?" Kakashi asked, changing the subject. "I'll need to know to get started on the paperwork."

"Well, I'm seventeen, but I'll turn eighteen in October," Cordi started, picking up some lo mein.

"I'm eighteen, soon to be nineteen in September," Rox smiled, holding her cup.

"And I just turned eighteen," Ronnie stated, trying again for a bite, but again failing.

"I just turned nineteen," Lynne laughed.

"As did I, but that was several months ago," Fred smiled, until her rice fell through the sticks again. Cordi snickered, which received a swift glare from Fred. Glaring at her, she plucked up some Yakiniku Cordi was angling for, and smirked when her expression fell, watching her smirk as she chewed on her prize.

"What about you?" Lynne asked, looking at Shikamaru pointedly. "In the comics and show, it leaves off with you all around seventeen?"

Shikamaru swallowed his bite before answering, "Twenty."

Gaara remained silent.

Lynne nodded knowingly, grabbing her water and taking a sip. "And the Akatsuki?"

"Gone," Gaara growled, his jaw taut at the mention of the group.

Lynne chewed on the inside of her cheek. "Interesting. How?"

Gaara eyed them closely, his gaze narrowing at her comment. Temari smirked, saying, "So, you aren't all knowing about us."

Lynne shrugged, "Only because the comic went to the Five Kage Summit. I'm sure any of us would ace a test on any you."

"Except Fred," Ronnie added around a mouthful of rice. Fred shot her sister a rueful glare.

"We are currently in times of peace," Kakashi stated over his tea, adding in a calculated tone, "Which is why we can make an exception for your presence as we are doing now." Lynne pursed he lips, knowing better than any of her friends how to read Kakashi's tonal subtext, which clearly stated, "Shut up, and only answer questions we ask." Lynne looked around, and noticed her friends also caught Kakashi's threatening tone, and separately agreed to stay silent for the rest of the lunch.

Until Cordi looked out the window and balked, "Is that fucking Orochimaru?" The girls all looked out the window, seeing the pale snake wielder waltzing through downtown rather brazenly, with Yamato trailing behind him. They turned back to Kakashi who answered with a disinterested glance.


	3. Chapter Two: Stones from the Sky

Cordi walked off with Gaara to see the way to where they were staying. Temari had stayed behind with Shikamaru to lead the rest of the girls back to their dorm. Gaara had asked her to, stating it was better if she helped Shikamaru with them, while Gaara handled the last girl. So, they were alone. Cordi couldn't have been more thrilled. Gaara was her favorite after all. All the Sand Siblings were, but Gaara was her favorite by far. She hoped he didn't notice her constantly stealing glances at him. He carried his greenish blue Kazekage robes and hat in one hand as they walked through Konoha. And he kept his seafoam gaze resolutely forward.

Overall, it was a very quiet walk. The only noise being made was the rustle in her jeans stride, and their footsteps. She couldn't muster the courage to say anything to him, and she wasn't sure why. Gaara, though, was content with the silence. They made a quick stop at the car, which the local villagers were still admiring. Gaara eyed the contraption carefully, agreeing it was rather odd looking for a carriage. There was no way a horse could move it.

"I should be done quickly," Cordi offered, opening the car to pull her stuff out. She grabbed her bag full of a month's worth of clothes, her purse, and her ten different carry-on bags. Needless to say, it was a little too heavy for her, and Gaara couldn't help but compare her to an overburdened mule. Mentally. He'd never voice such a comparison. While it was clearly too heavy, she refused to show it. "K, let's go," she grunted.

Gaara breathed through his nose, watching as she tried to walk with the weight, but clearly her legs were buckling. In spite of himself, he asked, "Do you need any help?"

Cordi smiled and said with heavy breath, "Yes, please." She suddenly saw sand appear around her, and the pressure from holding the clothes bag, the heaviest bag was lifted. She let it go and started walking with the Kazekage to his suite, still lumbering with her too many carry-ons, but her heaviest bag floated beside them with Gaara's hand held up as if it weighed nothing.

* * *

Kakashi turned to Shikamaru after lunch, stating, "The ninja dorms I'm assigning the girls are two blocks from your home. Would you mind taking them and settling them in?" Roxanne's face lit up at the prospect. They'd be living near the Naras? It was a dream come true! Gaara had ordered Temari to help Shikamaru, since he would be looking after four girls, and Gaara would tend to the last of the group. Kakashi then turned to the girls, stating, "Now, once the paperwork is done, I'll deliver your first weekly allowance, so you can get food. If that is all, I should be getting back to work." He gave a small salute, then poofed away in a cloud.

He looked at the four girls who were smiling at him hopefully. He raised his eyebrows and let out a small pout. Obviously, this was a "drag." "Fine," he replied showing the girls out. "How troublesome," he muttered. Roxanne had to strain her ears just to hear it. When they reached the outside of the Hokage building, Lynne stated she'd come back for the car once they knew the location of their stay.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes at Lynne's explanation, and starting to ask for a map of the town, so she wouldn't need his help getting the car and their stuff. "Why not us just get the car, then have Shikamaru ride with us to the spot?" Ronnie suggested.

Shikamaru looked at her skeptically.

Temari smirked as she said, "Let me guess. It's a drag?"

Shikamaru frowned at her. "I don't say it that often."

"Yes, you do," both Temari and Roxanne stated. Temari frowned, looking at Roxanne who pursed her lips and looked awkwardly at the sky, muttering, "I didn't say anything."

Temari looked at them, now curious. "So what kind of uncanny knowledge do you have?" Since Lynne suggested they'd be able to ace any test on them, she was curious about exactly how much they knew. But she knew better than to start a quiz of that nature in front of her youngest brother.

Ronnie shrugged, "Are you two still dating?" Shikamaru cleared his throat and looked away, while Temari gaped at the abrasive question. Ronnie nodded, clearly searching her memory by her expression as she continued, "I don't think it was ever officially stated, but it was heavily insinuated."

Rox had seen the look on Shikamaru's face as soon as Ronnie asked it, and her heart plummeted. In the Naruto world, Rox only ever had eyes for one man. Shikamaru Nara. She knew Ronnie had asked for her. Ronnie Buchanan was just as much of a shit disturber as Cordi, especially when it came to relationships. She had no doubt that Ronnie would hunt down the ninja she always liked in the comics like a bloodhound and make him fall in love with her. That always came easily to her. But for Rox, she didn't want Ronnie's interference. Especially when the man in question was clearly still in love with the blonde sand kunoichi in front of them.

Shikamaru cleared his throat again, asking Temari with a strained voice, "Do you want to answer that?"

"You don't have to," Rox offered, forcing a smile.

"Why not?" Ronnie asked with a devious gleam in her eye. "I'm really curious."

"Ronnie," Rox snapped. "That's none of our business."

"Oh, come on!" Ronnie huffed. "You aren't the least bit curious if any of the relationships we bet on over lunch over the years turned out?" She gestured at Shikamaru and Temari, adding, "I had good odds on these two. They're the only obvious ones!" Both ninjas blushed, looking away from each other. "So I really want to know. Are you two still dating?" Ronnie gestured to them, and began to mouth out "yes," for their answer.

"No," Temari answered quickly, looking away awkwardly, and now seriously regretting having asked the extent of their knowledge. Only the kages and the close circle of friends knew they had started dating. But they cut it off when they realized the Suna council was going to use their relationship as a bargaining chip with Konoha. It was a difficult choice for both of them. "We broke up," she finished, crossing her arms over her chest. Both ninja stood awkwardly apart before Shikamaru opened his mouth to say something, just as Temari muttered a small, "Excuse me." Then poofed out.

There was a long silent moment, only broken when Fred stated in a bored tone, "Jesus, Ronnie. Read the room."

"What?" Ronnie huffed. "She asked about the extent of our knowledge, and as far as we knew, they were a sure thing."

Shikamaru had already begun to walk off, his jaw set at the reminder of his recent heartbreak. How long had it been? A month? Two?

"Please, ignore Ronnie." He looked down at the girl walking in stride with him. Roxanne's ponytail bounced against her shoulders, her reddish brown eyes staring resolutely ahead. But something in the way she walked felt comfortable with him. "She can be rather pushy, especially when it comes to other people's relationships." He didn't dignify that with a comment. Rox continued anyway, "Like back in middle school, she asked out a guy Cordi was crushing on for her. It blew up in her face though when he told her that he liked her instead." Again, he remained silent. Rox cleared her throat, then added with a sigh, "I guess she was asking for me. Because, while we all liked you and Temari together, you were always my favorite character."

That made him stop abruptly in his tracks, frowning at the girl. She slowed to a stop turning to look at him. He quirked his head as he looked at her. Really looked at her. She had almost completely black hair, that didn't fall quite straight. She had piercing almost black eyes if it wasn't for the slight hint of reddish brown around the ring of her iris. She had very fair skin, with the slightest hint of natural pink in her cheeks, and vibrant lips that weren't too thick or too thin. She was shorter than Temari, only barely reaching his shoulders. And her figure was not as curvy as the kunoichi, she wasn't necessarily rail thin either. She was pretty, he'd give her that. But her eyes gave little away about her, which was unusual to him. He'd always prided himself on being able to read people, and understand how they think. Temari, he could read like a book. But this girl, he couldn't put his finger on it.

He crossed his arms as he realized he'd been staring at her before asking, "Why?" In all honesty, it was the only question he should be asking. As ninjas go, his life was relatively boring. He made a point in his life to avoid as much hassle as possible.

Rox shrugged, not looking him in the eye anymore as she said, "I dunno'. You're really smart, and while you're usually really reserved, if you're passionate about something, it shows. That's something I've always respected."

He frowned, pursing his lips with a small, "Hmm." He started his pace back up, and Rox fell in step with him again, but this time, she remained silent.

Behind them, they heard Ronnie ask, "Well can I ask about the other relationships? Because after seeing Naruto and Hinata, I'd put money down that he's still single. Meaning Hinata, being my first pick for him, is either still on the market or dating my second pick for Hinata, which is Kiba. And if Kiba is not available…"

"Jesus, Ronnie," Lynne and Fred howled, "Shut up!"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. But in spite of himself, he felt a laugh bubbling up from his diaphragm, which he relieved with a sharp breath through his nose. They were talking about people he'd known all his life. He'd admit that he saw Kiba having a thing maybe for Hinata. He certainly was protective of her. But Hinata and Naruto was ludicrous. He couldn't help himself. "Why on Earth would Naruto date Hinata?"

He was answered with several responses simultaneously. "Oh, come on." "You never noticed?" "Have you seen how she looks at him?" "Let's not forget that one time he called her a goddess, even though he didn't know he was talking about _her_."

"It's because she's been in love with him forever," Ronnie said clearly as if she was describing a love story so epic, it was legendary. Shikamaru eyed Ronnie, fascinated with her animated explanation. "Everything she's done since she was a kid was for him to notice her. And then he finally did notice her when Pain blew up Konoha, and when Naruto was pinned down, and she took on Pain in his stead. And then she almost died, and he broke the seal on the Ninetails." She let out a sigh, adding, "That's true love right there. Both of them. Even if he's too stupid to realize it."

Shikamaru frowned. He knew some of what happened when Pain attacked. Like Konoha being destroyed, and Naruto releasing the Ninetails. But he didn't know why Naruto did such a thing, or that Hinata was the catalyst. It explained a lot. Especially why Hinata remained single even though he'd known several guys had asked her out. But Naruto, really? Thinking back on it, it started making sense. He furrowed his brow in confusion, surprising himself as he asked, "Who else were you all betting on?"

* * *

When Temari arrived at the suite that afternoon, she didn't want to talk to anyone. She just wanted to open some wine, put on a sappy chick flick, and try and forget about Shikamaru Nara. This had begun to become a ritual since the breakup happened two months ago. Usually, she'd be able to suppress her broken heart after a day or two of drunken moping, followed by a couple of days at the gym, or sparring with her brothers. Gaara was usually the best one for her to take her broken heart out on. He was virtually indestructible, and he didn't take her rage personally.

Temari entered wordlessly with a sniffle, setting her fan down next to the counter as she made her way to the kitchenette freezer. She thanked whoever ran the universe for being in a hotel that had wine at the ready, snagging the bottle and uncorking the top. Kankuro was working on Kurasu at the table, but suddenly slowed, watching his sister as she tipped the bottle to her lips and started guzzling. She dropped the wine back to the counter, wiping her eyes, and in the process smearing her mascara. But something in the way she lifted the bottle back to her lips and started chugging again, Kankuro could tell she didn't care all that much about her make-up at the moment.

It was at this moment that the youngest Sand Sibling returned to the hotel suite, a strange young lady, one which Kankuro would deem fairly attractive, at his side. The large bag he held up with his sand dropped unceremoniously to the ground, earning an agitated, "Hey!" from the dirty blonde next to him. "Be careful!" Gaara turned to her coolly, only to blink at her as if asking, "Are you really giving me orders?" She growled, dropping her other bags on top of the large duffle, muttering, "Just because you run a country doesn't mean you can mishandle other people's stuff."

Gaara chose to ignore her, now looking at his two older siblings, noting Temari's stance, holding an open bottle of wine by the neck, and swallowing a mouthful of it most likely, and her mascara smudged. Kankuro shook his head when Gaara's gaze shifted to his brother. "Is this a bad time to introduce—" Temari cut him off by taking her bottle of wine back to one of the adjoining rooms, and slamming the door.

Gaara looked at the door curiously before turning to Kankuro. "What happened?"

Kankuro shrugged. "Well, she was in the wine, so my guess? Someone reminded her of her and that Nara guy's break-up." He said it so nonchalantly.

Gaara immediately let out a small groan, knowing Temari would want to spar with him if he was available. But first they'd have to get through the next few days of drunken moping and chick flicks as she called them, and rants that the Suna council was run by assholes, a sentiment that Gaara could not agree with more.

But while Gaara gave an understanding nod, he heard Cordi beside him audibly gasp. Gaara turned, looking at her with mild amusement. She held her hand over her heart, really over her large breasts if she could feel her heart through them. "She and Shikamaru broke up?" she asked in a genuinely worried voice that almost took Gaara by surprise. Kankuro only blinked at her in confusion. "Damn," she breathed in a tone that definitely confused both brothers now, "I had money on them getting married, too."

Kankuro stood at that remark, pointing at the dirty blonde with an estranged but amused expression. "Ok, who is this?"

Gaara turned, gesturing to Cordi as he started, "This is—"

"Cordelia Turner," Cordi cut him off, crossing the entryway to the dining area to shake Kankuro's hand. "But please, call me Cordi. I've read so much about you all already, I feel as if I know you." Kankuro felt a small strained smile come to his face as she kept shaking his hand. He looked to his brother, and the expression Gaara could easily read. "What the fuck, Gaara?"

Gaara closed his eyes and took a small calming breath before stating, "She's going to be living with us for the foreseeable future."

Kankuro's eyebrows shot into his hairline. "Since when?" he asked in a sing song voice that was clear something Gaara said wasn't adding up.

"Since I offered Kakashi this morning," Gaara answered blandly. His expression, although, dared his brother question his decision.

But anyone who had read Naruto as long as Cordi had would know Kankuro was not the brightest bulb in the box. He pulled his hand away from Cordi who had begun to step away from the brother. Cordi was quick to add, "Since I'm not a ninja, I'd be happy to help out around the house." She offered it as means of repaying their kindness in giving her a place to stay. That was why Kankuro was angry, right?

Kankuro made a face then asked, "So a housekeeper? You hired a housekeeper … in Konoha?"

Gaara eyed Cordi strangely, ignoring his brother's question as he said, "That won't be necessary."

"Please," Cordi replied, "it's the least I can do to repay your kindness."

"Gaara," Kankuro started, giving his brother a weird look. When Gaara finally looked at his older brother, Kankuro made an animated shrug as he stated, "I'm a little lost here. Why would Lord Hokage ask you to hold onto a girl for him? Especially to live with indefinitely?"

Cordelia took another step back, sensing the brothers were about to have words. Possibly about her, but not in the context she'd originally believed. She pointed to one of the back rooms, stating, "I'm just going to use the bathroom." And before either brother could say anything, she disappeared behind the door, flicking the fan on for the bathroom so they wouldn't think she was listening in.

"I mean," Kankuro made a comedic chortle as he continued, "even the Suna Council would think hiring a housekeeper in a city we don't even have a house in seems kind of silly, Gaara."

The sedate smile Gaara gave his brother would have ensured his murder had it been ten years earlier. Now he only replied with, "And yet your room is mess wherever we go."

Now Kankuro let out a deranged laugh. "Are you saying you hired her for me? Because that's what it sounds like you're saying. Even though my bedroom mess hasn't been an issue for you the past twenty years."

Gaara looked at his brother blandly. "What exactly are you insinuating?"

"What I _think_ is you've 'hired' an arguably pretty girl," Kankuro started, his tone clipped and sharp, "to come live with us, because the council has pretty much stipulated that one of us needs to start having children, so they don't give our sister grief. And that," he jerked his thumb over his shoulder to where Cordi had disappeared to, "if she is 'for me' as you just insinuated, is your convoluted way of making me become a father first. Well guess what mister, you can forget it. I'm not going to fall for that seductress. I don't care how much you're paying her." Gaara blinked at his brother who just began laughing haughtily. "Didn't think I'd figure it out? Huh. Well you are not as smart as you think you are."

Gaara frowned, giving a small shrug as he cast aside his robes and kage hat onto the couch, "I'm clearly not as ingenious or devious as _you_ think I am." Kankuro frowned, not following. Gaara resituated his shirt. The weather in Konoha's summer was beastly hot. And not the dry heat he was used to in the desert. It was a wet, muggy hot that made his shirt cling to his skin. When Kankuro's confused expression didn't change, Gaara let out a tired sigh that he had to spell it out for his brother. "She's not here for that." Gaara straightened, adjusting his shoulders before settling his gaze on his brother's. "If you must know, she part of a group of girls who showed up in Konoha this morning, claiming to be from another world. They have uncanny knowledge about our personal lives. And while the Hokage only had space available for four of them in the Konoha ninja dorms, I offered housing for the fifth. This is until they figure out how to return."

Kankuro frowned again. "How much does she know?"

Gaara made a face, something he rarely did, but Kankuro was around him enough to not be shocked when he did. "Enough that I didn't think she would accept."

After a moment of silence Kankuro huffed. "Sorry, I don't buy it. A girl from another world. Yeah right." His gaze narrowed, an expression Gaara was never comfortable seeing on his brother's face. "Unless." A word Gaara never liked to hear Kankuro utter either. "Unless she's to legitimize that girlfriend story you spout to council whenever they get antsy in the meetings."

Gaara shot a leveling look at his brother. "I have a girlfriend. Why would I need to hire a stranger?"

Kankuro let out a scoff. "Gaara! Who are you lying to? I'm your brother. I know your girlfriend is made up!"

"She's not made up. She just prefers to remain anonymous," Gaara stated, "Probably for the same reason you keep your dalliances secret." Kankuro balked that Gaara would admit to knowing about them, but Gaara shot him a piercing glare. Kankuro wasn't that slick. Gaara continued, "Again, that's also a position I'd hardly ask a stranger to fill, especially since the council will start pressing the marriage issue again."

Kankuro shot him a look, and Gaara frowned back at him. "So what are you going to tell the council about her? She's a stranger living in our house."

"The council will not demand me to marry anyone not from Suna," Gaara countered. "Especially when they see she's not enough to tempt either of us, or a ninja." That was a half lie. All the women who had arrived had each been pretty in their own way. Gaara could tell. Cordi was especially pretty. She had hair the color of the sun's rays off a sand dune. She had eyes that were deep and dark in normal lighting, but when the sun hit them they turned to a sultry chocolate that would give any man pause. Her skin was just as fair as Gaara's, and her lips full and as red as the crimson buds on his prickly pear cactus. And her figure was a solid hourglass like Suna's symbol. It was clear she did some working out, as her body was toned especially in her legs, and a little in her arms, but she looked soft in the necessary places.

But she wasn't a ninja. That much was obvious. And after the debacle with Hakuto in March, Gaara was certain the council wouldn't condone a pairing with a woman who couldn't even rank Genin. For either him or his brother. It was too risky. Gaara in part agreed with that sentiment. If he did marry, it would have to be with someone who could hold themselves in a fight. Kankuro, although, would avoid commitment at all cost. Gaara learned that when Kankuro threw him to the mercy of the council back in March with the arranged marriage idea that they had originally offered the older brother.

Kankuro rolled his eyes. "Yeah right. You're emotionally stunted, not blind."

Gaara gave a small glower. Had this been ten years ago, he might have murdered Kankuro for such a comment. "Look Kankuro," Gaara huffed, his emotions still well in check, "I was being honest about the other world thing. She's not some guise for the council, since I have a girlfriend. She's also not a seductress I hired for you. If you don't believe me, ask her. I'm sure she can tell you enough."

"Yes, I can," Cordi stated from the doorway. Both Kankuro and Gaara looked up. Kankuro was very taken aback to see she had listened in on his and Gaara's conversation, but Gaara only looked mildly interested. She turned to Kankuro stiffly, but the gleam in her eyes made it clear to Gaara something they had said upset her. But he'd never been that good at reading women. "All three of you were born about a year after the previous. Temari's birthday is August 23rd, making her a Virgo, like my sister Rox. Kankuro, yours is May 15th, making you a Taurus. And Gaara's birthday is January 19th, making him a Capricorn. Temari is the oldest of you three, and her chosen weapon is a fan with three purple dots. She can also summon ferrets and uses predominantly wind jutsus. She's also a master strategist. The relationship between her and Shikamaru was obvious because he is the only one who is smarter than her, although she thought Sasuke Uchiha was 'hot' when she first met him." Temari stepped out with a pale frown, holding her wine as she stared at Cordi. Kankuro shot her a weird look at the last remark, but Temari only blushed. "Her blood type is O, like myself. And she likes sweet chestnuts."

Cordi whirled back to Kankuro, pointing at the eldest brother as she continued harshly, "You, Kankuro, prefer your puppets Kurasu, Kuroari, Sanshouo, and Sasori's puppet body upon his death, as well as an assortment of poisons. You once begged Lady Chiyo to train you, but she turned you down because she didn't give a shit about the village anymore. You wear purple kabuki make-up and all black. This is to reference the traditions of bunraku, a Japanese puppet theatre, where the puppeteers wear black and face paint so they are not seen during the performance. The color purple for your face paint was picked by the comic's artist because it's the color of royalty, and was to reference that you were one of the Fourth Kazekage's children. But under that hood, you have medium brown hair and the rest of your features without makeup are generally nondescript, looking incredibly similar to your father. As a kid, you were terrified of your brother, and the first time you saw Shukaku, you were so terrified, you couldn't eat for a week. Your current job is to be your brother's bodyguard, even though you've said yourself, 'Does he really need one?' Your blood type is B. And your favorite food is hamburger steak, which I agree is delicious."

She pointed to Gaara now, stating, "Gaara uses his sand, as his ability with it is a mix with the Kazekage line jutsu of magnetic release and having the One-tailed beast sealed inside him as an infant. But since Shukaku was ripped from his body when he was fifteen, essentially killing him, which Granny Chiyo sacrificed her life for to bring him back, and he still has the sand ability, some have argued that it's the will of your mother Karura protecting him, because he was born prematurely, due to Shukaku being sealed in Gaara in the womb. A decision that also killed your mother. Shukaku is a tailed beast that takes the shape of a tanuki and acts like an alcoholic, and makes it impossible for its host to sleep. The alcoholic personality is because in Japan, where the comic is from, the animal tanuki is largely associated sake and bars, really drinking in general. When Gaara was six, your uncle said some fucked up shit to him on behalf of your father, who let's be honest was nowhere near the podium on any father-of-the-year awards, just to see if he could get a reaction."

Gaara was feeling really uncomfortable now, but he didn't dare say anything. It was weird to hear such facts about his own life rattled off as if they were nothing. That incident had released Shukaku and many people died. But she talked about it as if it was nothing more than some book she read. His chest tightened as he realized it was exactly that. In her world, they were entertainment. They weren't living breathing people to her who he killed. She knew what he did all those years ago, but she didn't know the gravity of it.

Both Kankuro and Temari watched Cordi wide-eyed as she fearlessly plowed through, both looking to their youngest brother for a reaction. "Which he did, because that was when Gaara made that scar after killing Yashamaru who had just tried to kill him, again at your father's request. This breakdown also released Shukaku, which then attacked Sunagakure. I know Gaara's hobby after that point was thwarting your father's assassination attempts on him, and both experiences, plus the added isolation your father already put him under, were direct causes to him developing a warped existential philosophy that he must kill to prove he was alive. During the chunin exams arc, where you were all introduced in the comics, on screen Gaara killed three mist ninjas during the second part of the exam, which don't know if you know, but it was witnessed by Kiba, Shino, and Hinata who were hiding in the bushes. Then in the month after, he killed Dosu of the Sound village, who was an asshole anyway. And two more mist ninjas who were hired to coerce Gaara into throwing his match with Sasuke. This philosophy was the artist's way to convey a kind of school shooter mentality, which is the more violent psychological reaction to years of bullying and isolation, which has become a problem in my world's current culture. Although, to add to his creep factor during the chunin exams, the author also added some serial killer psychology to his philosophy. A sociopathic mentality if you will. Although, since it wasn't present when he was a child, or at least how it normally presents itself in children, it is easily determined that he developed it as a way to cope with the fucked up shit Yashamaru told him at your father's request, as well as the isolation. I also know if you were to ask him about his hobbies now, after Naruto changed his philosophy on life, he'd answer keeping Suna safe and growing cacti. He is the youngest person to become Kazekage. His blood type is AB, which is also one of the rarest blood types in the world. And his favorite food is salted tongue and gizzard," she turned to Gaara with a judging expression as she added, "which gotta' say, gross.

"When the three of you were genin, you were led by the Sand Jonin, Baki. I know how Orochimaru murdered your father in a ditch, then stole his face in order to get Suna to attack Konoha during the Chuunin exam when you were kids. This was because Orochimaru had a vendetta against the Third Hokage, who died during the crush, and posing as your father for a month was the only way he could get close to him and cripple Konoha. I know you," she directed her point now at Kankuro, who was now looking wide-eyed at the onslaught of information, "are good friends with Kiba since you saved him during the Sasuke retrieval attempt." Her finger swung back to Gaara, adding, "I know Rock Lee kicked your ass in the Chuunin exam, and it was amazing to watch! I also know if you showed up five minutes earlier during the Sasuke retrieval attempt, you would have witnessed Rock Lee's ultimate taijutsu, which only happens when he's drunk. I also know you saw Deidera as an immediate threat, because his bird wasn't native to the desert. And I know he used your sand coffin against you as a means to plant his detonating clay spiders in your ultimate defense."

She huffed, shaking her head before she continued, "I know all of that, and more. I even know stupid shit about you that only exists in my world. Like Gaara's outfit when he fought Deidera was inspired by Neo from the Matrix, a movie that likely doesn't exist here, but I brought the DVD, so you can watch it if you want." She reached into a bag hastily, yanking a small case out, and flicking it at the brothers. Kankuro tried to catch it, but it bounced off his wrist. Gaara recovered it, and looked at the cover with a frown. The man on the cover did wear a similar outfit to Gaara's old fighting gear, but black instead of Gaara's burgundy. "I know that during the Sasuke Retreival mission, your outfits changed for two reasons. First was to show you were now good guys. Second was because the artist thought your Chunin exam gear was too difficult to draw. I know Gaara's backstory, as well as Suna's, is the artist's favorite backstory in the series. I also know that since you three's introduction by every comic book reader poll, Gaara is one of four characters who has never dropped out of the top ten favorite character rankings among its probably billion readers. Those two facts are why the comic's artist thought it best to make you good guys." She turned to Gaara and added, "If you're curious, the only other three like you who haven't dropped out of that top ten ranking is Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi."

That made Gaara's eyes widen a little. It was hard to fathom a world where a billion people knew your deepest, darkest secrets, and still favored him among the people Naruto encountered as a ninja. Deep down, he didn't feel worthy. He looked at her, and her eyes burned back into his. He saw her lip tremble, and he wasn't sure why.

"Do you know why I know all of that _stupid_ _ **shit**_ about you? Because you three were my favorite characters," Cordi continued, her eyes shining now, landing on each of them. All three looked at her warily as her lips pursed into a snarl. Her fists tightened at her side. "I knew so much stupid shit about you three, but what I didn't know was that all of you are assholes!" She spun on her heel, seeing Temari in the doorway, the open bottle of wine still in her hands. Cordi grabbed it from her, taking a swig as she stomped into the room she'd been hiding in, and slamming the door closed with a loud "Crack!" Gaara's room, as it were.

Temari shifted her stance, looking at her brothers curiously. Kankuro had his lips pursed and his eyebrows raised almost to his hairline, his wide-eyed gaze unwavering from the door she'd just slammed shut. Gaara gave his sister a bland expression before asking, "Are you ready for that spar?"

* * *

The next day, the five girls agreed to meet up in the village square and hang out. Rox was chipper. Ronnie definitely eager with an eagle eye for something, or someone. Lynne looked at everything in wonder. And Fred looked rather nonchalant. "We should try Ichiraku for lunch. They're always going on and on about how amazing it is in the show," Lynne suggested excitedly.

Rox nodded enthusiastically. Neither Ronnie nor Fred really listened. Ronnie looked up and beamed at an approaching figure. "Cordi!" she yelled, waving her hands above her head. "Over here!"

Cordi spotted them and picked up her pace a little as she jogged over to them. "'Sup?" she asked, popping the "p" with her lips.

Ronnie frowned, looking at her longtime best friend. She could see from the lacking glimmer in her eyes, the way she chewed on her cheek, and her less than proud stance that something had happened. "What's wrong?"

Cordi shrugged. "Nothing."

Fred crossed her arms at this. Being the oldest, she was always the one they all went to for advice. "Ok, spill it. What happened? Did he hurt you? Are we going to have to go kick his ass?"

"No," Cordi said, quickly holding up her hands. "No. It's my fault, really." She frowned, crossing her arms tightly across her chest as she huffed, "He's got a girlfriend."

Lynne and Rox both frowned, and even Ronnie was taken a little aback by the statement. "Who? Gaara?" Lynne asked. The thought was bizarre. Gaara just didn't seem like the type to date. Really any romantic scenario didn't compute with Gaara. But with Cordi nodding her affirmative, Lynne had to re-assess what she knew of the redheaded kage. "Huh," Lynne grunted. She looked at Ronnie and Rox, and both held similar expressions to her.

Before any of them could say anything, Cordi added quickly, "And I know I have no right to feel jealous or even shocked by that news. It's just that it's Gaara. He just doesn't seem the type to just date, unless it's..." She didn't want to finish that sentence. _Unless he was completely and utterly serious about marrying her._ Cordi knew enough about him that he let few people into his world. Fewer still that he'd trust enough to have a functional relationship with.

"No, we know," Lynne stated supportively. Rox and Ronnie gave affirmative nods, still confused by the prospect. "He's not the type."

Lynne stepped forward and pulled her youngest friend into a hug, and slowly they all joined, last being Rox, who added, "Would now be the right time for me to say 'I told you so?'"

Cordi pushed her away with a small glare, and the group began to laugh. "Why don't we grab a bowl at Ichiraku, explore the town, and just have fun like we were supposed to be doing?" Lynne offered.

They all agreed, and set out for the famous ramen bar. Then they explored until their legs were tired and they collapsed in a field, sitting in a circle, quickly falling into their normal banter and laughter. "I'm not saying I want to cut our time short or anything. I'm just saying I'd like to find out where the kennels are—" Ronnie stated matter of factly.

"Only because you want to hunt down Kiba!" Cordi howled with laughter.

"YEAH!" Rox snapped in agreement.

"Well, what's wrong with me meeting my favorite character?" Ronnie argued. She pointed at Cordi and Rox, adding, "You've met yours. Why can't I meet mine?" She smirked as she added, "Especially since, according to Shikamaru, he's a single pringle ready to mingle?" Cordi started to laugh at her friend's rhyming.

"Because we have to go back, Ronnie," Fred huffed, rolling her eyes.

"How? Did you figure that out since yesterday?" Lynne asked, her brow arched.

Fred grimaced dejectedly. She knew she was the one driving when they got lost. And even though she apologized, would they stop nagging her about it? Likely not. "No, Lynne. I didn't. But it's not good idea to start relationships when we don't plan on staying here."

"Who said anything about a relationship?" Ronnie asked with a laugh, leaning forward. Fred frowned, as her little sister continued to the rest of the group, "Look, we're here for the foreseeable future. Why not have some fun while we're at it?"

Fred shot her sister a disapproving look. Trust Ronnie to suggest hooking up with the land's most eligible ninjas when they could find a way home at any moment. She puffed out some air, blowing her bangs out of her face, then looked at Lynne and asked, "You were as big a fan as these three. Are you going to chase down your favorite ninja, too?"

Lynne pursed her lips, picking at the grass as she said, "Well, my favorite character was kind of a bad guy in the series." She winced, looking up at the sun as she continued, "So if I had to guess, he might not even be alive." She chucked her picked grass into the breeze casually, sucking on her teeth.

"Good," Fred sighed. Lynne shot her a strange look. "Not that he's dead," she recovered, shaking her head and waving a dismissive hand. "Just that you aren't going to go off panting after your cartoon crush like these three ninnies."

"Hey!" Rox huffed, shooting a scowl at Fred, "I'm not panting." Fred shot her a facetious glare back.

"And _I'm_ not going to run after a guy who's clearly taken," Cordi added, with a disappointed frown directed at Fred, as if to tell the oldest of the group that she should know them better. "I'll also note, he's also not the only guy in Suna."

Rox balked at her sister. "Wait, you're still going?"

"Duh."

Lynne shrugged, letting out a sigh as she returned to the main subject, "While I might not go chasing after Sasuke, I'm not entirely opposed to having some fun while we're here."

"THANK YOU!" Ronnie called out, gesticulating wildly at Lynne who just laughed and rolled her eyes.

Fred frowned. "What happened to the 'Chicks before dicks' rule?"

"We can find you a guy, if you think you're being left out," Ronnie said, flicking her wrist as if the question was of no importance.

"Or some cats," Lynne offered with a smirk.

Fred glowered at her, plucking some grass and throwing it at her. "Not funny." Lynne rolled her eyes.

Ronnie stood, drawing their attention away from the oldest two of the group about to start a grass fight. "Alright, that settles it," she declared. "Until Cordi leaves in a few weeks, we will come here every day and hang out. But while we're here, we will also have some fun and break some hearts." She stuck her hand out in the middle of the circle. "To having fun."

Cordi stood first, putting her hand on top of Ronnie's. She smirked as she said, "To having fun." Lynne next, then Rox. Finally Fred let out a huff, rolling her eyes as she pulled herself up to stand, placing her hand on top of the pile. "To having fun."

Suddenly, a light glowed from their hands, and they each frowned at the bizarre spectacle before it jolted them with a shock. They each withdrew their hands, wordlessly looking between themselves for an explanation to the odd moment.

"Do you hear that?" Cordi was the first to speak. It was a strange whistling, and they all began to hear it. Cordi looked up, then wide-eyed she yelled, "MOVE!" Jumping back a pace. The girls did the same, just as five strange stones landed, one each where they had been standing.

The stones were odd, and smooth, and varying in vibrant colors. A ruby red one sat in Cordi's spot, a sapphire blue one in Ronnie's, an amethyst purple one in Roxanne's, an emerald green one in Fred's, and a diamond white one in Lynne's. Cordi was the first to reach down to the red rock. "What are you doing?" Fred snapped.

Cordi frowned, answering as if it should have been obvious, "Inspecting the rock." She put her hand on the stone when it suddenly cracked. And a ruby bat-like wing popped out. More cracks sounded as the other stones erupted until all that stood in front of them were what could be considered baby dragons, or at the very least vibrant winged lizards. Each one looking at the person whose spot they took. Each of the girls suddenly felt an enormous power rush through them. Then darkness.

Rox was the first to wake up, muttering about how her head hurt. She felt some weight on her stomach, and she looked, seeing the baby dragon nestled on her abdomen. It was a beautiful shade of purple. It had feathered wings with silver tips on the feathers. The scales were purple, but the spinal scales were silver. Its four legs looked like hawk talons and its tail was long, but at the end, there was a fan of purple and silver feathers, like the wings.

The second to come to was Lynne, muttering something similar about a headache. Hers had no wings but had a long snake-like body, a lot like an Asian dragon. It had small whiskers and a small goatee. Down its spine, it had a line of fur that was tinged gray. Otherwise, it was completely white, except for the brown antlers, which were just little nubs now. It had short arms and small paws.

The third was Ronnie. Her dragon was royal blue with webbed feet. Its front legs were longer than its hindlegs. It had a long tail that flattened to a sail like tip, and had big, bat-like wings attached to its back, showing its ability for flight. It had a long neck and gills under its chin. It also had nostrils, showing that it didn't need to be in water.

Then Fred woke up. Hers had leathery green wings tinged with brown. It had a long pointed snout and small brown antlers. It had brown and green scales along its body, patterned like a ball python. Its tail was long, but had an end that looked heavy and fitting to be a sledge hammer. It had normal lizard-like feet.

Cordi's was similar in build to Fred's except its scales were red and black, with the spine of black scale starting at the top of its dome all the way down to the tip of its tail. The tail also didn't have a special end, just a normal pointed tip. It had black horns that curved around the side of its head like a ram. The snout was also a little shorter and a bit more rounded. It was the smallest in the group.

The dragons stared at each of the girls they were laying on, small smiles on their snouts. The girls looked to each other, now more than a little afraid that their presence in this strange world may not have been an accident.


	4. Chapter Three: The Legend

"What?" Rox started, looking at her dragon with wide eyes. "How? Why?"

"EEK!" Ronnie yelped, jumping up as her dragon rolled of her stomach into her lap. It let out a confused yelp. "I'm sorry," she breathed quickly, reaching down to situate the baby lizard correctly. "I just wasn't expecting you."

They watched in silent amazement as four of the baby dragons hopped into the center of the circle. Lynne's stayed behind as he wrapped himself around her hands. The other four started playing and tugging at each other before the purple one beat his wings twice, and blasted the other three with a small gust of wind. The red one recovered first, jumping on him. The purple one kicked her off, then jumped into the sky, his beating wings keeping him afloat. The girls gawked, seeing the other dragons figure out their wings and start zipping through the air.

"We have to tell someone," Fred said first, watching the lizards fly around.

"What are we going to tell them?" Rox challenged, shooting her oldest friend a deranged look. "That while we were walking through the forest, these stones tried to kill us, but they weren't actually stones, they just happened to be dragon eggs? So now we own dragons?! No!"

"Well, what are we going to do?" Fred asked. She added, a little at a loss, "I don't even know how to care for a dragon."

"Do we know that they _are_ dragons?" Lynn asked, holding hers in her hands as he wrapped himself around her wrist.

"Really Lynne?" Ronnie balked. "They're flying lizards. That's the definition of dragon." Just as she said that, the red one hiccupped, and a small flame shot out. Ronnie pointed to it, saying, "And that one breaths fire."

"Shut up!" Cordi yelled, not able to listen to all the bickering anymore. Everyone turned to look at her, even the dragons, who seemed to be flying around playing tag. She took a deep, calming breath, then suggested, "We can just keep them hidden. When they grow too big, we simply hide them in a local forest. Considering this place is surrounded by forests, it won't be that difficult. We just need to make sure it's a forest that no one goes into."

Everyone nodded in agreement, except for the dragons, who continued their game, Ronnie's, though, was starting to tire and landed. "So, while we're hiding them in our rooms, keep eyes and ears open for forests no one goes into," Lynne offered with a shrug. It seemed like a stupid plan, but not entirely implausible. Then Lynne looked at Ronnie's dragon and stated, "You might want to put that one in water. It looks like a beached whale." It did, too. It looked like it was about to pass out or something.

Ronnie nodded and quickly left with her dragon.

"Well, we should leave too. I need to hide my dragon before Gaara and the rest of the Sand siblings return," Cordi replied. She whistled for the dragons to look at her and started walking away. Her dragon quickly hurried beside her.

The rest of the group also decided to return to their homes.

* * *

Ronnie quickly went to the bathtub and lifted her hands to turn the taps on. But before her hand reached the knobs, the faucet started to run. Confused by this, she immediately cocked her head. She may be a little moronic at times, but she was pretty sure this was not normal, but decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth. She quickly ran to grab her dragon and placed it in the water. Suddenly, it looked alive again. Its big blue eyes gleamed up at her. Cutely, it began to swim happily in the small tub.

Ronnie smiled at it. "Now, what should we call you? Well first I need to know if you are a girl or a boy," she contemplated. Suddenly the color pink flashed through her mind. That confused her, because she wasn't even thinking of colors.

Suddenly she heard it growling, which worried her, until she saw its face. Its eyes were screwed up in a concentrated look. "Gggggrrrrrrrr – rrrrrllll. Grl, gur – rill," it seemed to growl.

"Girl?" Ronnie asked. It nodded in return. Ronnie smiled, leaning her cheek on her fist as she beamed down at the dragon, "Well, in that case, how about Nessie? You look kind of like a water dragon, and the only water dragon … thing … I can think of is the Lochness Monster. What do you think?" It seemed to give a polite smile, which was kind of scary, and nodded its approval. "Alright then. Nessie."

Suddenly, Ronnie noticed how wet the front of her legs felt. She looked down and saw she was in a huge puddle of water. "SHIT!" she gasped as she tried to turn the faucet off. But they wouldn't turn. Then she remembered that she hadn't turned them on. The faucet had turned on by itself. _Now was the time to panic_ , she realized while more water spilled onto the floor, flooding the apartment. Nessie jumped out of the tub and used the apartment floor as a slip n' slide. Nessie loved the flooding.

Thinking quickly, Ronnie unplugged the drain of the bathtub, letting some water flow away, but it was still over flowing. Scared at what might happen if the apartment kept flooding, she started to cry. "I want this to stop! Please stop! Just STOP!" she screamed.

She felt Nessie nudging her leg, and she turned her teary blue eyes toward her little dragon. Then she heard the bathtub empty and noticed the faucet was no longer running. She looked at Nessie and asked, "Did you do that?" It shook its head innocently and pointed a webbed claw towards her. "I did this?" she asked. Nessie nodded. Ronnie laughed and said, "That's not possible." Suddenly a picture of a faucet running flashed through her mind, and she took a hint.

Ronnie looked at the bathtub faucet and thought of water running from it, and it happened. "Stop," she commanded and the water stopped. Surprised by this turn of events she laughed and breathed, "You have got to be kidding me."

* * *

As soon as Cordi got to the Sand Siblings' suite, she went to find a place for her dragon to hide. Quickly she placed it on her bed and held up both hands toward it and said, "Stay here!" It nodded in reply and curled up on the bed. Cordi chewed the inside of her cheek as she tried to think. She was sharing a room with Temari while they were here for the tournament. This wouldn't work. Temari was bound to notice a strange flying lizard chilling in their room. Cordi rubbed her fingers over her jaw, trying to think quickly. The sand siblings would be back anytime now. _What did they say they were doing?_

"What the hell is that?" she heard ask. Cordi spun, seeing Temari walking from the bathroom, her body wrapped in a towel, and her blonde hair wet and dripping on her shoulders. Temari's green eyes were trained on the small dragon, curled up on their bed.

"Uh…" Cordi couldn't form words, staring at the eldest Sand sibling blankly. "What are you doing here?"

"I asked my question first," Temari said coolly.

"Right," Cordi chirped, looking at the red dragon. "That is a baby dragon." She said each word slowly, and clipped, clearly not sure how else to explain it. Temari frowned, eyeing Cordi carefully, her expression demanding more information. Cordi shrugged, "I was out hanging with my friends, when these weird stones fell out of the sky, which turned out to be dragon eggs, so now we have dragons. Which was supposed to be a secret."

Temari raised a quizzical brow at her explanation then looked at the dragon. She leaned down and poked at it, and it looked up, then hissed, spreading its wings to appear big.

Cordi jumped in, her hands up, "No, no. It's ok. She's ok." She picked up the lizard, saying, "Sh. It's ok." The dragon refused to remove its gaze from Temari, occasionally flicking its black tongue out toward her. They were silent for a moment before Cordi looked at Temari and begged, "Please don't tell Gaara."

Temari shot her an incredulous look. "He's going to find out eventually."

"I know," Cordi huffed. "Just, until I know more about what raising a dragon entails, I don't want him to know." She looked down at the dragon in her hand that nuzzled at her wrist. She gave it a small, bleak smile, stating, "I feel like it chose me." She rolled her eyes, realizing how stupid that sounded. "Or something."

Temari breathed. "Fine."

Cordi let out a sigh of relief. "Ok. Do you mind watching her for a bit? I figured I needed to get started on dinner before Gaara and Kankuro get back."

Temari frowned. "You know none of us expect you to cook or anything, right?"

Cordi sighed, "I have to earn my keep somehow. I know last night was a little rocky with my outburst …"

"But my brothers can be jerks," Temari stated. "I heard what they were saying too."

Cordi forced a smile, "I'm over it. It was just really disappointing." Temari quirked her head, and Cordi explained, "I've been reading about you all since I was eleven. Maybe that means I've built you all up in my head. Made expectations of you that I shouldn't have."

"Maybe," Temari sighed. She smiled a little as she added, "To be fair, I think you scared Kankuro."

"Not Gaara?" Cordi replied with a smirk.

Temari gave a tight smile as she said, "I think that's impossible. Nothing scares him."

"Not that you've seen," Cordi replied.

Temari gave her a curious look then said with a shrug. "Look, just make us some tea, and we'll discuss how to keep this," she gestured to the dragon snuggled in the girl's arms, "under wraps."

Cordi nodded, putting the dragon back on the bed, and going out to the kitchen in the suite. It wasn't a large kitchen, but it had a kettle for tea, and a small gas stove with two eyes. She filled the kettle, then set it on the eye. She turned the switch for the gas on, and it clicked a few times when Cordi growled, "Come on, light!"

Light it did. A pillar of fire shot up from the stove. Wide-eyed, Cordi turned the eye off, but the flame didn't go away. "TEMARI!" Cordi yelped, starting to rummage around for a fire extinguisher, only to see her hand was on fire. But she didn't feel like she was burning.

This made Cordi scream. She quickly turned on the sink, running her hand under the water, but the flames still licked at the air. "Shit SHIT!" she squealed. Suddenly she heard the smoke alarms go off, and she let out a groan. All she was trying to do was turn the stove on. Today was just not her day.

Suddenly she saw Gaara bust through the door, his eyes wide as he saw the burning pillar of fire. Thinking quickly, she ordered, "USE YOUR SAND!"

"What?" he asked. He couldn't understand half of what she said due to the roar of the fire.

"YOUR SAND! SMOTHER IT WITH YOUR SAND!" she yelled. He understood this time, and threw up a hand spraying sand all over the stove and counter top. The pillar of flame was gone, but the ceiling was nicely singed.

"What the hell happened?" he asked her confused.

She held up both her hands in a shrug and said, "I don't know." Then she noticed in the hand that had been on fire under the faucet, she held a fireball. Her eyes got really wide, and she started screaming again. "PUT IT OUT! PUT IT OUT!" She was about to try and shake them off her hands when Gaara grabbed her wrists and dragged her over to the sink, turned it on and ran her hands under it. The fire still raged on her hand.

"Are you controlling this?" Gaara growled.

"I don't know," Cordi wept, the stress of the situation getting to her. Suddenly, Temari jumped out of their room, a fire extinguisher aimed at both of them, and sprayed. The kitchen was smoky again, and now both Gaara and Cordi were covered in white foam from head to toe.

Temari dropped the extinguisher, her shoulders drooping.

Cordi breathed raggedly, feeling Gaara's hand still around her wrist. It was warm, but rough. She realized he was likely using his sand armor to keep from being burned. "I'm sorry," she sniffled. She pulled her wrist back, looking at Gaara, and resisted the urge to suddenly smile as he stared at her, half of his face and body covered in foam.

"Are you alright," he asked, his face serious.

She couldn't do it. The absurdity of the whole moment got to her, and she began to laugh. Even Temari began to laugh, carefully shutting the door to their room as she did it. Gaara frowned, as Cordi reached up. He didn't move, but was clearly tense as she pulled some extinguishing foam from a spike of his hair. Cordi let out a small snort at his expression, and she stated, "You look ridiculous."

He scowled, stepping away from her, shaking the foam off his hands, and brushing his shoulders. Cordi lifted a hand to help him, and he shot her a cold look. "You were controlling that fire, I have no doubt. So until you learn to control that power properly, it might be best to keep your hands at their side." She gave a small nod, and he made a move toward his room. "I'm going to clean up, and then we will be going to dinner." He shot Temari a look, who nodded sheepishly. Cordi looked at her and noticed the eldest sand sibling was still in her towel.

Temari shot her an arched look, and all Cordi could do was shrug.

* * *

Roxanne got back to her apartment and shut the door right behind her. Today had been a very trying day. She let out a sigh, but as soon as she let it out, a huge gust of wind erupted from somewhere and wrecked her apartment. Chairs were tossed and papers flew. She looked around confused as she held her breath and everything fell in chaotic places. She sucked in her breath in a gasp and everything flew back at her. She squealed and dodged as best as she could.

Meanwhile her dragon was making a weird sound. When she looked at it, she saw it clutching its stomach with its fore legs and pointing a wing at her, rolling around in the air. Rox got the distinct impression that he was laughing at her. Not just chuckling, but guffawing, wheezing and all. Her eyes narrowed at the little dragon and she growled, "Shut up."

She walked back to her bedroom to relax a bit. Once the dragon calmed down a bit, it joined her, giving her one of the most innocent looks she had ever seen. "I have to give you a name," she stated. The dragon nodded. "Well what are you a boy or a girl?"

"Boy," it said in a high-pitched rough voice. Roxanne's eyes went wide.

"You can talk?" she asked in a surprised voice. He nodded.

"Name?" he reminded.

"Oh, yeah, right. Well, lemme look at you," she said. He flew around, showing off a little in his modeling. "Ah-HA! I got it. I will call you Gryffin." The dragon smiled a toothy smile at the name, which was sort of scary.

* * *

After leaving her dragon at her apartment, Lynne went out for some sushi at the place Kakashi had taken them to the previous day. She'd really enjoyed the veggie rice roll, and was eager to have some again. Her dragon had fallen asleep right as its head hit the bed. Once she arrived at the restaurant, she found the Sand Siblings and Cordi sitting at a table in the front of the establishment.

"Hey, what's up guys?" Lynne asked the group as she passed their table.

Cordi turned around faster than anyone else in the group and said, "Lynne! What are you doing here?"

"Well, I was going to get some sushi," she replied, pointing over to the sushi bar, where they prepared the rolls in front of seated guests. Seeing the Sand siblings' empty stares, she trailed off in a mumble, "Or maybe a bento box to go."

"No, stay," Cordi offered, almost panicky. "It's ok if she joins us, right?" She turned towards the Sand Siblings who looked like they didn't care. Kankuro wasn't even looking at them, Temari looked skeptical, and Gaara just stared boredly. Cordi scooted over, making space between her and Kankuro. "There, you can sit next to me." Lynne saw the tense expression Gaara shot Cordi when her knee brushed his. She mumbled a small, "Sorry," with a small blush.

But Gaara's expression was clearly trying to read Cordi's intention in the accidental brush. As Lynne watched him, his voice rang out, "Either she's doing that on purpose to illicit a response, or – no, there's no way that was an accident." He sucked on his teeth in annoyance before adjusting his seat to move his legs away, and looked up to see Lynne eyeing him very closely. He gave her a strange look when his voice rang out, "Why is she staring at me?"

"No reason," Lynne answered, only earning strange stares from everyone at the table. "Thank you for letting me sit with you," she added quickly, looking at the table as she sat down. She put her hand over her mouth, and leaned over to Cordi and whispered so no one else at the table could hear, "Gaara was just talking, right?"

Cordi pursed her lips in a frown, tilting her head before shaking her answer.

"Ok then," Lynne let out an awkward laugh, settling in just before the waiter came by.

Lynne looked at the waitress, a young woman who looked on tiredly. "Of course they added another person to their party. Now, I'll have to move them to a larger table, then I don't get my tip. Assholes." The girl fixed a smile to her face and asked, "Is there anything I can do to help you? Would you like a larger table?"

Lynne looked at her wide-eyed. Having worked in the service industry one Summer, she understood the drawbacks that came with it. But she also would never had said anything like that in front of a customer. "No, no. It's fine," Lynne answered quickly. "Wouldn't want you to lose your tip on my account."

The waitress looked at Lynne with horror. "Did I … I didn't say that out loud, did I?!"

When no one else gave an affirmative answer, Lynne pursed her lips, before ordering, "Actually, I'll just get an order of veggie rolls and some steamed rice, and a water, please. Thank you." The horrified waitress gave a stiff nod, then sped off back to the kitchen to place Lynne's order.

Then the table became awkwardly silent again. As soon as the order was delivered, they started eating in an odd reticence. Lynne looked around curiously, finding it strange Cordi was remaining so quiet during dinner. She was usually a chatterbox. She looked at her longtime friend, and suddenly heard her saying excitedly, "I'm touching Gaara's knee. I'm _touching_ Gaara's knee. That is a very nice knee." Cordi blushed, inwardly rolling her eyes. "Quit fangirling, it's just dinner." Cordi looked up at Gaara sheepishly. "Why does he have a girlfriend?"

Lynne looked over at Gaara, whose expression remained stoic as he looked at the back wall. But she heard his voice clearly, "She's still touching my knee. … She's _still_ touching my knee. … _Why_ is she still touching my knee?"

Lynne did her best to suppress the smile coming to her face by chewing on her tongue. She shifted her gaze to Temari. Temari's voice rang out, "Who uses a baby to negotiate peace treaties. Not even a _real_ baby. A hypothetical baby. Fucking Suna Council. That's who. This wouldn't be an issue if my brothers weren't both so … No. Gaara's responsible, but even asking him to settle down with his history is ludicrous. But Kankuro is just being selfish." She shot a terse smile at her eldest younger brother as she took a sip of her tea. "I could be married, if it wasn't for you, prick." She rolled her eyes, shaking her head, "No, it's not his fault either. Kankuro would make a horrible husband. Fucking Suna Council with their hypothetical baby peace treaties."

Lynne turned to Kankuro now who watched Gaara carefully. "Can Gaara get more fucking dense? The girl likes you! Just tell her you don't like to be touched. For someone he claims he's not using to get the council to back off Temari, the girl seems rather eager."

"Sooo," Lynne drawled, tacking her chopsticks together awkwardly, turning to the Kazekage. None of these comments she heard were said with any sort of mouthal movement. So either everyone one here was a ventriloquist, or Lynne could suddenly read minds. Eager to test out her theory, she smiled at Gaara, her icy blue eyes leveling with his, "Cordi tells me you have a girlfriend?"

Gaara looked at her carefully. _"They had a bet on me too, didn't they,"_ he thought.

Lynne shrugged, "It's difficult to imagine you doing something so normal." She was enjoying this too much. She lifted a hand to her face in a thinking pose as she watched Gaara squirm under the topic. "I have to say, the thought is fascinating."

He cleared his throat, his gaze piercing hers. "And why is that?" he asked carefully.

Lynne gave another nonchalant shrug. "I just take you for a man who doesn't like to be touched," she answered, giving Cordi kick to her shins.

"Ow!" Cordi glared at her friend.

"I'm sorry," Lynne replied, her smile totally not apologetic. Cordi shot a curious look at her friend, and Lynne gestured with her eyes to where her knee was touching Gaara's under the table.

Cordi blushed, adjusting her seat and muttering, "It's a small table."

" _Liar,"_ Kankuro thought.

"Anyway," Lynne continued cheerfully. "Who is it? Is it anyone that we would know?"

Before Gaara could respond, Temari set a sour gaze on Lynne, asking, "He's just going to say she's anonymous. So why don't you tell us who you think it is?" Lynne only looked away from Gaara for a second. "I seem to recall yesterday several of you saying you had money on certain couples."

Cordi cleared her throat, and Lynne looked at her briefly. "Ixnay on the Ikamarushay," Cordi whispered through clenched teeth.

Lynne let out a knowing chuckle, realizing that was the "hypothetical baby," Temari had been referring to. Hers and Shikamaru's. "Well, I can guarantee no one had money on Gaara being with anyone," Lynne stated. She added humorously, "Nor Kankuro to be honest."

" _What's that supposed to mean!?"_ Kankuro thought. But it didn't take a mind reader to see that on his expression.

"But that was more for the opposite reason," Lynne continued. The Sand siblings narrowed their eyes at her as if to try and interpret her meaning. Lynne rolled her eyes point at Gaara, stating, "Too serious." Then pointing to Kankuro, adding, "Not remotely serious enough." Kankuro glowered at the description, but Gaara and Temari gave agreeing nods. Lynne put a finger to her lips, shifting her gaze back to Gaara, who was now looking half nervous, half daring. "But if I had to guess –"

"Don't say Matsuri," Cordi breathed.

Gaara flicked his seafoam gaze to Cordi. _"What's wrong with Matsuri?"_ he thought, frowning for a second at the dirty blonde next to him, only to look disinterestedly at his food.

Lynne decided to ask for him. "Why not Matsuri? Honestly, she's kind of the only candidate."

Kankuro let out a choking cough at her explanation. Lynne flicked her gaze to him for a second and heard, _"Shame she's fucking me."_ Lynne's eyes flew wide, and she slapped Kankuro on the back helpfully.

Cordi made a face, then let out a huff. "I don't know. She's not on his level." Gaara was watching Cordi intently, and she wasn't even noticing.

" _What could she mean, 'not on my level'?"_

Cordi turned to Lynne, letting out another sigh. "It's like in Friends when Rachel started dating Joey. Separately they're great. Together, they're weird." Cordi shot Gaara a weird look, then added, "Can we change the subject? It was different talking about it when you weren't … people."

Lynne frowned at Cordi. Leave it to Cordi to leave things on an awkward note, rather than let Lynne have her fun. Things were just getting juicy. Kankuro was screwing Matsuri, and Gaara has a secret girlfriend. She couldn't help herself. "So, is it Matsuri or not?"

" _They are rather adept. Better lie."_ Gaara schooled his features well. "No."

Lynne's eyes flew wide, looking away from the Kazekage. "Shit," she breathed. She swallowed back her shock, turning to Cordi. "Cordi, I need to go to the bathroom." The sentence came out in a rush, and before Cordi could answer, Lynne grabbed her wrist and dragged her to the back of the restaurant.

"Lynne? Lynne! What the Hell?" Cordi fought, struggling against her strong grasp. Lynne shut and locked the bathroom door, pacing as she rubbed her hands over her jaw. Cordi stepped back, eyeing her friend worriedly before saying, "Lynne. What's wrong. You're scaring me."

Lynne paused, looking at her friend carefully, her tongue running over her teeth as she thought how best to phrase what just happened. She took a deep breath, then said, "I think I can read minds. And I was having some fun with it until I realized Matsuri is two-timing Gaara and Kankuro."

Cordi gave her a weird look, then laughed. "What?"

"I'm serious," Lynne started. When Cordi looked at her incredulously, Lynne realized the best course of action was to explain how she tested it. "At the table, you were freaking out about your knee touching Gaara's. Gaara was freaking out about your knee touching his, but more in a 'Please get off me' sort of way." Cordi pouted, slightly taken aback. "I'm sorry," Lynne said quickly, but she continued, "Temari was thinking about Suna council using hers and Shikamaru's hypothetical baby to renegotiate peace treaties, which is probably why they broke up. And Kankuro thought Gaara should speak up about his discomfort with your knees touching."

Cordi frowned. "You could be making that up."

Lynne put her hands on her hips and scoffed, "Why would I lie?" When Cordi's only answer was a shrug, Lynne let out a sigh. "Alright, don't believe me. Pick a number. Any number. Be oddly specific."

Cordi narrowed her gaze at one of her closest friends. _"5,683,492.7516239485."_

"5,683,492.7516239485," Lynne repeated, giving a mirthful smile as Cordi's eyes flew wide.

"Holy shit," Cordi breathed.

"Yeah," Lynne said with a nod, back to pacing.

Cordi pursed her lips into a small "O," making a small bracing sigh. "S-so you think Gaara's secret girlfriend is Matsuri?"

"No, I know," Lynne stated, still pacing. She pointed to her head, adding "He admitted it." She turned in pacing, as she added, "So did Kankuro."

Cordi's brow furrowed, her dark eyes gaining a strange focus as she clarified, "Matsuri's two timing them?"

Lynne gave a violent nod. "I brought you in here to tell you because you know how I can't sit on that shit, especially sitting through dinner with them." Yes, Cordi knew. Cordi's first, and only, boyfriend, Max. Ex-boyfriend really. They dated for half of eleventh grade school year. Lynne had found out he was cheating two months in, though, and immediately told Rox and Fred. Both told Lynne to keep quiet about it, to let Cordi find out on her own. Lynne sat another month and a half on it, until he stood her up for a date, and Lynne told her. Lynne had empathized with Cordi, because she too had been cheated on before. But Lynne's parents had been the ones to inform her, and she didn't believe her parents over her boyfriend at the time. That regret was the only reason she agreed with Rox and Fred's decision to keep quiet. But during that time, Lynne did her best to avoid Max, and any conversation about Max with Cordi present, and it had become obvious she was hiding something.

Cordi's shoulders sank. Now she was in that position. "You know I have to live with them. And I suck at lying. It's going to come out!"

Lynne nodded. "It always comes out." Cordi scowled at her. "I'm sorry. I just can't hold a secret like that."

Cordi shook her head. "Yeah, I'm not much better," she sighed. She shook her head before stating, "We're eating out here because I caught the hotel suite's kitchen on fire." Lynne frowned at the confession, and Cordi added, "Like a pillar of fire, and a fireball. Not normal fire."

Lynne chewed the inside of her cheek, her eyebrows furrowing together in thought. "I see what you're talking about –"

"Don't read my mind," Cordi ordered, scowling at her friend.

Lynne lifted her hands in a mea culpa, and mumbled a small, "Sorry. Do you think something similar is going on with the others?"

Cordi shrugged. "Beats me. But we need to go back to dinner, or the Sand siblings are going to think something's up." Cordi moved to the door, unlocking it and swinging it open. She paused for a moment before adding, "Also, Temari knows about the dragons."

"What!?" Lynne snapped.

"I had to tell her. She and I are bunking in a room. There's nowhere I could have hidden it," Cordi replied, walking back to the table.

Lynne set her jaw in frustration. A part of her wanted to ream her friend's blasé tone, but at the same time that would let more people in on their groups' little lizard secret. She let out a huff, and shook her head before stomping back to the table, eating in silence. And by some miracle, they were able to get through the meal without slipping up about Matsuri.

* * *

The next day the group met again in the same field as the day before, dragons in tow. But joining Cordi this time was Temari. After helping Cordi sneak Aleera, her baby dragon out of their old hotel room and into their new suite, Temari demanded to meet the other dragons. And boy, was she chatty. Aleera, not Temari. Somehow, the dragons had learned to speak over-night and would not shut up.

When Cordi showed up with Temari, all of her friends were livid. "We weren't supposed to tell anyone!" Rox hissed, seeing the blonde kunoichi sauntering in the field behind Cordi.

"Well, I kind of couldn't not tell Temari," Cordi stated. Her friends crossed their arms at the excuse, and Cordi continued, "The hotel suite only has two bedrooms and a couch. Meaning, I'm bunking with Temari, which also means there was nowhere I could hide Aleera that Temari wouldn't see."

"I promise I won't say anything," Temari added quickly. She gave Cordi a look, then added, "At least not until you're ready."

Ronnie was the first one to step forward, scratching Aleera's head, as she said, "Aleera suits her." She looked at Temari with a frown before turning back to the group, "Maybe having one ninja know about the dragons won't hurt." She pursed her lips awkwardly before stating, "I don't know about you, but when I got back last night, something weird happened." Everyone looked at Ronnie carefully. She just let out a laugh, then said, "It's probably just something stupid … but…"

"It's not stupid," Lynne spoke up, looking at all of them. "Something weird happened to me and Cordi last night too. And from what I'm reading, Rox too."

The friends all looked at each other with trepidation. "I flooded my apartment," Ronnie blurted. She pointed to the bucket she brought with her, where her dragon swam. "I was just trying to get Nessie some water, and the faucet just exploded with water, and would not shut off."

"I…" Rox started, stopping as soon as she opened her mouth. They turned to Rox, their gazes expectant. "I threw my furniture across my apartment by sighing."

Temari raised an eyebrow at that, as Lynne added, "Cordi set their suite on fire, and it wasn't a normal fire. And I can suddenly read minds." Temari's eyebrows rose immediately to the last tidbit. That explained the odd conversation and stares from her last night.

Fred frowned. "Bullshit."

"Think of something I wouldn't know," Lynne suggested. "I'll repeat it." There was silence between them as the group watched with trepidation, before Lynne started, "Your coworker, John, doesn't know you know he has a crush on you. Last week, you picked up a pamphlet to join the army. Really? Why?" Fred blushed, then looked away. "We are not leaving you behind."

"Yes, you were," Fred stated. "You all were."

"Fred," Rox asked, her voice full of worry. "What are you talking about? Why would you join the army?"

"You were all leaving," Fred said, her fists clenched at her side. "Ya'll were all going off to college." She gestured to each of them as she continued, "Ya'll were going to Georgia. Ronnie was going to Florida. And Lynne was going back to Pennsylvania. And I …" She paused, licking her lips as she looked at the ground. "And I was stuck in Virginia, serving coffee. That's why I suggested we do something before all of you left." The somber feeling of her sentiment quieted the girls and the dragons. Fred let out a scoff, doing her best to shove down the tears that were threatening to spill, "Go figure we'd get stuck in a world where I didn't read the comics or watch the show."

Ronnie stepped forward first, pulling her older sister in a hug, "Well, you'd never truly be able to get rid of me." Fred let out a small laugh.

Rox too pulled her into a hug, "Me either."

"But did you get a power?" Temari asked, breaking the sentimental moment. They frowned at the blonde kunoichi, but she was utterly serious. "Sorry, we side-tracked. But you were the only one who didn't say if a strange power manifested or not."

Fred sniffled, "Actually yeah. I did notice something. Wherever I go, flowers seem to sprout. For example, look at what I'm standing on," Fred gestured to the ground beneath her. Everyone looked and saw she was standing on a flowerbed of thick purple clovers that wasn't there when they arrived. She let out a sharp scoff, "It makes me feel like one of those stupid happy-go-lucky wood nymphs."

"So, Fire," Temari started, pointing to Cordelia. "Water," to Ronnie, "Wind," to Roxanne, "Earth," to Fred, "and Mind I'm guessing," to Lynne.

"What, are we like Elementals?" Roxanne asked.

Temari shrugged. "Here, everyone is born with an elemental chakra. Although, I've never heard of anyone being able to read peoples' minds like Lynne seems to be able to. Not to mention, Mind isn't really a chakra element."

Lynn shook her head. "I had a friend from my old high school who was into wicca and witchcraft. The elements in wicca are Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and Spirit." She shrugged.

"Well, we know it's not chakra, so maybe, Lynne," Cordi added. "Not to split hairs, but we'd have to learn how to access our chakra, if we have it, which Hinata says we don't, before it could run amok, like it did last night."

Temari sighed. "Well, you are from a different world. Maybe it's a different type of power. Remember what Hinata said. She said she saw a strange power in you. Maybe it just had to be awakened."

"But even magic like this doesn't exist in our world at all," Rox argued.

Temari frowned, "And yesterday was the first sign of any of these powers?" They all nodded. "Well then what happened right before the powers started manifesting."

"We got the dragons," Lynne stated, watching their dragons play together.

"So maybe it is like Cordi said," Temari offered. "The dragons chose you, and gave you their power."

"No," the white one answered, landing on Lynne's head, settling on her flame red hair like a perfect white halo.

"You were born with them," Nessie replied in a sweet voice.

"I think we would have noticed that by now," Cordi laughed.

"No, we had to awaken them," Aleera replied in a smart voice, zipping around Cordi's head. The other dragons nodded in agreement.

"You've always had them," the white one added. "Your energy when you entered this realm was what attracted us to you. It shone like a beacon, and brought us to you. And when we did, we hatched and awakened your powers."

"Sorry, Saryu. But let me get this straight. You're saying that we had a specific energy that you have been searching for?" Lynne asked, looking up at her dragon as best she could. The other dragons nodded. "How long have you been searching?"

"Oh, I don't think one of us knows how long it's been. Centuries. Millenia?" Gryffin explained. "We were the last eggs lain and the only survivors of our species. We've been searching ever since then."

"This is fascinating," Temari breathed, watching the interaction of the group.

"Why us?" Ronnie asked.

"Well, we needed to find beings whose power resonated with our own. And they had to be very strong," the green dragon answered. "Stronger than our own. To become our mothers."

"Another fine example of 'with great power comes great responsibility,'" Cordi scoffed.

"So, how did we get this strength?" Fred asked. All the dragons seemed to shrug their replies. "Huh, so you guys have no idea."

"We were kind of hoping you could tell us," Aleera answered. "I mean, you aren't even of our species, yet you have our strength. And humans, from what I've heard through my shell, are a pretty fragile race."

"Hey!" Roxanne snapped indignantly.

"They have a point," Lynne stated. "Average humans are significantly weaker than dragons. I guess this is a mystery we'll all have to figure out ourselves." The group frowned.

Temari stepped into the center of the group with a frown. "Well, I think the next important step is figuring out how to use your powers. If they are as strong as these dragons say, you'll need to learn how to control them quickly to keep from hurting or possibly killing anyone." She looked at each girl carefully, then announced. "So, everyday until we leave, I'll start training you."

Ronnie and Lynne looked up hopefully. "To be ninjas?"

Temari paused. "I don't think I could teach you that. But I can teach you how to control your powers, so they don't run amok." The girls nodded their agreement. It was the only logical next step.


	5. Chapter Four: What It Takes

Roxanne woke up the next morning with something heavy on her stomach. She opened her eyes to see Gryffin, the size of a Chow Chow grinning victoriously with a rat clenched between his teeth. He dropped the bloody carcass on her stomach and provided innocently, "I got breakfast."

Trying to keep the previous night's dinner in its place, she replied, "You can have it. I'll make myself toast."

A knock sounded on the door, and Rox looked to it nervously. She wasn't expecting anyone. She stepped up closer to the door, waving at Gryffin and mouthing, "Go hide!" He quirked his head at her in confusion, and she shot him a look. He tucked his tail between his legs, then moved towards the desk. The ninja dorms were simple one room apartments with a kitchenette, bed, desk, and tv. Rox let out a relaxing breath before calling out, "Uh, who is it?"

"It's Shikamaru," the voice on the other side of the door answered. "I figured I'd show you all to the ninja school. Your classes start today."

Rox paused. Classes? They were supposed to start training their new powers under Temari today. She totally forgot Kakashi's requirement for them living in the dorms. "Shit," she breathed. She wasn't even dressed. She looked at the clock. 7:30. It was early for her. "Uhm, what time are the classes?"

"8:15," he answered on the other side of the door.

"Ok, uhm, g-give me a couple minutes," she asked, quickly rushing to her bags to snag some clothes, hopping around her room as she struggled into her shirt, then pants, and shoes. She rushed to the bathroom, quickly brushing her teeth. She moved back to the door, looking at Gryffin quickly. She put a finger to her lips, whispering, "I'll be back soon." She swung open the door just enough for her to inch through, shutting the door quickly behind her. Just as she looked outside the door, she saw Shikamaru's bored gaze staring down at her.

He arched a thin eyebrow at her, his lips forming a bored frown. "I'm guessing you and your friends all forgot about learning at the academy?"

Rox pursed her lips, giving a vague nod before muttering, "Yeah, you might be right about that."

He rolled his eyes as he groaned, "How troublesome." He let out a sigh, then continued to the other dorms, starting to knock on each door, to wake them up.

* * *

Temari stood in the designated field for their training, her hands on her hips as she watched out for the other girls. Cordi stood behind her, her arms crossed as she also looked around awkwardly. The rest of the group was thirty minutes late. Temari let out a long sigh. "Alright," she said with a huff, turning to Cordi. "I guess we'll start without them." Cordi's gaze locked with hers in trepidation. Temari smirked. "We'll start by trying to pull it out small." She held up a finger in suggestion. "One little flame at the tip of your finger."

Cordi nodded, holding up her right index finger in front of her. She focused on the tip willing a flame to appear. But nothing happened. Several minutes passed, and all Cordi's focusing seemed to do was make her finger tremble with tension.

"Try and stay calm. Focus on breathing," Temari suggested, watching her new pupil.

"I am staying calm," Cordi breathed through gritted teeth. _Why wasn't it working?_ Two days ago, pillars of fire erupted out of the blue. Today, nothing. She scowled at her finger. Another couple minutes passed, and Temari opened her mouth to say something, but Cordi cut her off with a growl, "I swear, if you tell me to stay calm …!"

But that was it. As soon as she snapped at the Sand Kunoichi, her hand erupted in flames. She stared at it wide-eyed as her whole fist was enveloped in the blaze. Cordi let out a relieved laugh as she said, "I did it!" But as soon as her anger was squelched with relief, the flame was gone. Her laughter died in an instant. She started growling again in frustration, and the flame came back to life.

"It's your anger," Temari said, seeing Cordi glaring at her flaming hand. "When you're angry or frustrated, your flame appears. Try focusing your flame to a point."

Cordi gave a small nod. Focusing on the flame now, on the feeling. She marveled that it didn't burn her at all, even though the flame erupted around her whole hand. She glared at her hand, willing the flame to shrink. Then it did, slowly retreating up her hand to her fingertips where it flickered like a candle's wick.

Temari smiled. "Good. Now try to hold that for a little while."

* * *

_This is totally degrading_ , Fred thought. She'd graduated high school a year ago, and vowed never to step foot into another classroom. She'd learned everything she was interested in learning five times over, and she was ready to be an adult and start getting a paycheck. Sitting in a classroom for hours on end was her idea of a special circle of hell. And it wasn't like they were in normal school. This was ninja school. With a bunch of twelve-year-olds. Life couldn't get more disappointing. While Lynne and Ronnie listened to this Iruka's lesson with rapture, Fred was slowly going insane. Her gaze shifted to Rox sitting next to her. When Rox glanced at her, Fred made a hand pistol and stuck it in her mouth, then fired. Rox smiled, and let out a small snort.

"Yes, Ms. Buchanan. Anything you'd like to add?" Iruka called out, his gaze focusing on the women in the back row.

Fred's eyes flew wide at being caught, then mumbled, "Uh, no sir."

Iruka nodded, continuing with his lesson. Fred rolled her eyes as soon as he was turned around. One of the kids in front of her gave her an annoyed glare, and she shot one right back at her.

Fred shook her head, looking down at the desk, muttering under her breath, "This is such bullshit."

"Sh," Rox hissed quietly enough only she heard.

A bell rang out, and Iruka called back to the class, "Alright. It's time for lunch. You're dismissed until the afternoon class bell." The children began storming the door, trying to get to the cafeteria to get their food first.

The last to stand were the four girls, all way too old to be in this class. Fred looked at her friends skeptically as they got up without too much of a fuss. "Come on, you guys. I can't be the only one who sees a problem with this."

Lynne and Ronni shrugged. "It's the one stipulation made for free room and board," Lynne stated.

"But it's embarrassing," Fred huffed. "We're nineteen. Ronnie's eighteen. All of our classmates are twelve." She shot a look at Iruka, who sat down at his desk, grading everyone's homework over a small packed lunch. She added in a low voice, "We're old enough to _date_ the teacher!"

Rox frowned. "If I remember correctly, Iruka's like ten years older than Naruto, who'll be twenty in a few months. So, he's actually twenty-nine, maybe thirty."

Fred rolled her eyes. "Well, you know the dateable equation. Divide by two, plus seven. So …" She did the math quickly in her head, ticking off the numbers with her fingers. She let out a small huff, "Alright, fine. The youngest he could go is 21. But still, that's only a couple years off. And that still doesn't negate the fact that our classmates are twelve-year old, snot-nosed brats, who are probably going to recess after this!" When no one said anything, except look away sheepishly, Fred added, "Really. None of you have a problem with pretty much being in middle school again?"

"I know this must be difficult for you four," a voice said standing right behind Fred. Her green eyes went wide, and her stomach plummeted as she turned to see Iruka standing right behind her. He was a step down from her, but he was still taller by an inch. He had his hands in his pockets as he looked at each of them. "Kakashi informed me about the special circumstances with you all," he stated with a pitying smile.

Fred shot a brow up at him. "Did he tell you that we all graduated high school, and were legal adults?"

Iruka frowned at her snippish tone. He crossed his arms as he replied, "He told me that due to your circumstances, you would have to pass the ninja written exam at the end of the semester to graduate and become genin, or your living arrangements will be revoked."

"Fred, it's not that bad," Ronnie offered. She turned to Iruka and asked, "How long is a semester here?"

Iruka gave a small shrug. "Three and a half months, or fourteen weeks roughly. There are three week breaks in between semesters, except the month of December, which is four weeks. You all came in half-way through the Summer Semester, and the exam is only a month and a half away, so it shouldn't be too difficult to catch up with the class."

"See. A month and a half of class. That's not so terrible," Ronni said with an appeasing smile.

Fred rolled her eyes. "Ronnie, you just got out of school, so maybe it's not terrible for you. But I've been out of school for a year, making money as an adult." She let out a sigh, turning back to Iruka. "Kakashi told you we had to pass a written exam?"

Iruka nodded. "He said you lack the chakra necessary for the ninjutsu and genjutsu tests. But the written exam would qualify you for several secretarial or record keeping jobs in Konoha." The girls nodded along as Iruka explained. He made a slightly worried face as he added, "As a ninja, you'll be expected to fill an annual mission quota, but as genin, you won't be assigned anything major where you'll need chakra control."

Ronnie, Rox, and Lynne all let out varying levels of scoffs under the guises of coughs.

"Ok." Fred licked her lips as she thought. "What if we just go ahead and take the written exam now. That way we can bypass this whole Billy Madison fiasco." Iruka frowned, not understanding her reference.

"One, he doesn't know what Billy Madison is," Lynne stated, quirking an eyebrow at the eldest of the group. "And two, we have to pass."

Rox gave an agreeing bob of her head, to which Fred frowned. Fred pursed her lips, then asked, "What else can they teach us? I already had to take calculus to graduate high school, and trigonometry. And chemistry, and physics."

"Well, our history classes will mean nothing here," Rox stated.

"Yeah. Remember they just got trains," Ronnie added.

"And they don't have guns," Lynne added with a pointed look, "So literally any war we had to learn about with guns hasn't happened here. In case you haven't noticed, that's like all of them since the 1500s."

Fred glowered to her friends' logic. "Not to mention literature. I highly doubt our knowledge on Romeo and Juliet is going to help us. But I'm sure there are some culturally significant writings that might be on the exam."

Iruka frowned, not following them completely. "Well," he interrupted, "The written exam is mostly history, math and science, as it pertains to ninja skills."

Lynne gestured at Iruka as she gave Fred a warning look. "See?"

Fred grumbled her annoyance.

"And if you fail the first time, you are allowed to retake the semester two more times." This didn't give Fred any comfort, and their teacher could see that written on her face. Iruka gave her a pitying look. He could understand the girl's irritation. When he was nineteen, he had been out of school seven years, made Chunin, and was teaching his first class at the school. He shrugged as he added, "No one's stopping you from finding another job in the village while you go to school here. You are adults, and many ninja have secondary jobs."

Fred pursed her lips, and looked away, not liking being scolded. "Thank you, Iruka. We'll look into that."

"Ok," he sighed, giving the girls each meaningful looks before saying, "You all should go get something to eat. We do taijutsu and physical training in the afternoon. So, you'll need your strength." He turned, leaving them to go back to his work. Lynne hooked her arm with Ronnie and they walked out. Fred chewed on her inner cheek, then shot a look at Rox. Rox only shrugged in response, following the other two of their group out to the cafeteria. Fred shook her head in disappointment.

Rox leaned back when she noticed her friend hadn't moved. "You coming?" she asked.

Fred let out a sigh. "Yeah."

She followed her friends with her hands in her pockets, feeling rather dejected. As they made their way to the cafeteria, got their food, and found a secluded table to sit at, Fred remained silent, pondering exactly what she was to do about their predicament. Her friends might not think it was a big issue, but to her it was. Iruka's offer clanged around in the back of her mind. _No one's stopping you from finding another job…_ She might just do that. That way, she wouldn't have to worry about doing well on the test. If she had some income, she'd be able to pay for her own place, and not have to go through another semester. She didn't care about becoming a ninja. The others might want that, but she was not about to put her life on the line for a country she knew little about.

"Gryffin was really big this morning," Rox stated out of the blue. They had been sitting at their table just eating for a few minutes.

Lynne gave a nod. "Yeah, Saryu was too. He grew like two feet over night."

Ronnie pursed her lips before adding, "Nessie is about half the size of the bathtub right now. If she has another growth spurt like that, I won't have a wet place big enough for her."

Fred pursed her lips as her friends turned to her, wondering the same about her dragon. She gave a small nod, replying, "Yeah, Cherokee went from Chihuahua to Labrador over-night." When Fred was awoken this morning, it took her a minute to realize what had been pinning her legs, as when she went to sleep, Cherokee was at the foot of the bed.

"So, what should we do?" Lynne asked. "If we give them another week, they could double in size again, and then we'll be really screwed."

Rox chewed on the inside of her cheek before offering, "We should probably relocate them to a forest, where they can catch bigger game."

Lynne frowned. "Game?"

"Gryff woke me up after hunting a rat," Rox said with a frown. The girls shot her wide-eyed, horrified looks, although Ronnie looked more disgusted.

"Ew," Ronnie voiced. She looked at the other girls, asking, "There aren't rats in our building, are there?"

"No," Rox sighed, a little self-reprimanding. "I left the window open last night for a breeze. I think he flew down into the alley, and snatched one."

Fred frowned. "Rox, why would you do something like that? He could have been seen!" she hissed.

"Don't you think I know that?" Rox huffed. She shook her head, not looking at her friends to avoid their judging glares. "I just opened it a jar. I didn't think he'd be big enough to open it large enough for him to escape. And he came right back"

"Still," Fred sighed. She didn't have to finish her thought for the others to know it. She pinched the bridge of her nose, adding, "I think it will be safest if no one opens their windows until we can find someplace for them to go."

"So, you do think we should find them a habitat," Lynne clarified.

"Duh," Fred replied quickly. "They are already too big for the one room apartments we're in. Personally, I think it's the biggest priority now, rather than sitting in class with a bunch of children."

Ronnie rolled her eyes. "How did I know she was going to bring that back up?"

Rox and Lynne smirked at Fred's younger sister, while Fred just scowled. "Look, if you all are cool with playing middle school, fine. But we do have some adult responsibilities that we can't address while we're here. Like where the hell we should put the …" she paused, looking around to make sure no one was around to hear her whisper, "dragons." She cleared her throat as she added, "Or like how the hell we're supposed to get back home." Rox and Ronnie looked away sheepishly under Fred's arched look.

"What if we can't go home?" Lynne asked, after a long pause. The girls looked at the spirit user worriedly, Fred more so than Rox and Ronnie. Lynne gave a thoughtful shrug as she added, "Hear me out. We show up here as if by magic, which none of us possess. Then dragons appear, attracted to our beacons of power, which are then awakened. But none of which contain this mysterious ability to move through alternate universes." She paused, taking a deep breath as she chewed on the inside of her cheek. Her blue gaze was distant as she gave her head a small shake. "I don't know. It just feels like we were brought here for something." She looked up, her gaze leveling with Fred's as she finished, "And I'm beginning to think it's not something we can just return home from."

"What," Fred scoffed. "You mean like fate?" Lynne nodded. Rox and Ronnie shot both the eldest of the group meaningful looks that said they also believed Lynne. Fred rolled her eyes. "There's no such thing."

"How can you say that?" Rox asked.

Fred opened her mouth to retort, but Ronnie cut her off, "It doesn't matter if we believe in fate or not. The important matter is where are we going to house the dragons." She leaned back, crossing her arms annoyedly realizing she'd have to prevent another debate among the eldest three of the group. She let out a small sigh, "We need to find a place with low traffic, densely populated with good prey, and good water source, especially for Nessie. She needs a water source she can submerge in."

The older girls nodded their agreement. "We'll probably need to discuss it with Cordi. And how is she going to hide a dragon in the desert?" Rox asked.

"Temari knows. I'm sure she'll help her," Lynne offered. She closed her eyes in a pensively tired expression, then added, "But for the long run, we should pick a place that's good for them to grow now, and Cordi should move Aleera there until she leaves."

* * *

Gaara and Kankuro stepped out of Kakashi's office, finished with the semi-annual Five Kage Summit, held every two weeks before the Chunin Final. Gaara had been the earliest arrival, arriving a couple days ahead of schedule. This was due to Naruto writing them about a reunion party among their Chunin exam class. It had been exactly eight years since their exams, and it was the first time since the Fourth Great Ninja War that the rookie nine and Team Guy were going to be in Konoha off mission at the same time. And since Gaara and his siblings were to be arriving a few days later for the Kage Summit, Naruto felt it alright to ask them to come a few days early for the party. Temari asked if it was such a good idea, but both Kankuro and Gaara thought it was a wonderful idea.

They arrived the afternoon before the party. They settled in their hotel, arranging for a long stay. Gaara enjoyed watching his friends catch up at the local barbecue joint in Konoha. Kiba, Kankuro, Sai, Sasuke, Shikamaru, Choji, and Naruto drank, Kiba telling them in depth about his newest conquest, a woman named Tamaki. Naruto tried to give Lee a drink, but Tenten intervened. Sasuke didn't stay long, claiming he had a mission he was leaving for in the morning. Sakura, Temari, Tenten and Ino chatted for most of the night. Ino shot a lot of looks at Sai, and every time Sakura caught her, she shoved Ino's shoulder. Hinata sat off with Gaara and Shino, and the sand user noticed the Hyuga girl watched Naruto the whole night. There was a toast to Neji, who was the only one among them who'd fallen in the war. Temari stated they should leave, reminding Gaara they would have to meet with Kakashi in the morning to verify meeting time and location, as well as see if Kakashi would be assigning them a guide. It was that meeting Naruto barged in on with the strange, other worldly girls.

The Raikage arrived the same day, in the afternoon after the girls arrived. Gaara noted that Kakashi didn't inform the Raikage of the new arrivals. The Tsuchikage arrived two days later, exactly on the day the meeting was arranged. Of course the Mizukage was a day late, today. The Chunin Final Summit always consisted of how the chunin from each village did during the exam leading up to the final. But with the new arrivals' strange circumstances, Gaara was certain something was to be said about the girls from the other world, but again, Kakashi remained silent. Gaara was suspicious, and even Kankuro noted Kakashi's withholding.

Instead, they'd been informed about the Sand's team member that made it all the way to the finals, as well as the two Mist members, the Stone member, the Cloud member, and three Leaf members. Then they were offered guides during their stay in Konoha. Tenten and Lee were tasked with the Sand's leaders, and Gaara was thankful for the familiar faces.

"Gaara and Kankuro," Lee greeted excitedly, "you are with us today!"

Tenten elbowed him harshly in the side, then huffed, "Show some respect. They're here on official kage business."

"I am sorry, Tenten," Lee replied, turning back to the Sand brothers to correct himself, "Lord Gaara and Lord Kankuro."

Kankuro laughed, placing his hands on his hips as he said, "Come on. We're all friends here."

Gaara gave a pleasant smile too. "Yes, let's not stand on ceremony."

Lee smiled at them both, his teeth gleaming cartoonishly. "So, where would you like to go to first?"

"Should we go back to the hotel, and grab Temari?" Kankuro offered. Gaara nodded in agreement. Both brothers knew it was far better to make sure Temari didn't want to join them for lunch before going their own way. If they left her out, there was always hell to pay.

Lee lifted his fist in the air comically and began marching out of the Hokage building. "Let's go then!" The Sand brothers followed along with Tenten and Lee. Lee led the group with Gaara walking beside him. Then Tenten walked just behind Lee with Kankuro walking alongside her.

"So, why wasn't Temari with you guys?" Tenten asked as they stepped on the main road of Konoha.

Kankuro gave a shrug. "She said she felt it was best to stay and keep an eye on Cordi," he explained boredly.

Tenten frowned. "Who's Cordi?"

"She's one of those weird girls claiming to be from another world that showed up at the Konoha gates two days ago," Kankuro added. He jutted his thumb to his brother as he added, "This guy offered to let one of 'em live with us until they can figure out how to return home."

Lee beamed with a thumbs up. "That is most generous of you, Gaara!"

"Yes," Gaara breathed, thinking the decision over, "it probably was."

Kankuro eyed his brother carefully, noting his tone. "You aren't regretting it, now are you?"

"No," Gaara answered quickly. He crossed his arms in thought as he continued. "The circumstances were rather strange. In light of today's meeting, I'm rather satisfied I trusted my instincts to make that offer when I did."

Tenten and Lee frowned their confusion, but Kankuro gave a grave nod. "So you noticed it, too."

Gaara nodded affirmatively.

"Naruto mentioned these girls when I saw him last," Lee stated. "They are the ones Hinata said were without chakra, yes?" Both Sand brothers grunted affirmatively. Lee rubbed his chin pensively as he asked, "Was something discussed about them in the Summit?"

"No, that's the strange part," Kankuro answered. He added animatedly, "Five girls show up with inexplicable knowledge about all of us, claiming to know us from some comic book series from an alternate dimension, and no idea how to return to where they came from. And Kakashi doesn't mention this to the other four Kage?"

"That certainly is strange," Lee muttered. He laughed as he added, "Almost unbelievable."

Tenten shrugged. "They could be lying. The girls, I mean."

"Tenten! How could you suggest such a thing!" Lee howled, offended by the statement. "You have not even met them!"

Tenten shot her hyper teammate a sour look, adding, "A group of girls lying just seems more plausible than a group of girls coming from an alternate dimension."

Kankuro made a face, tilting his head with a slightly pensive grimace. "Plausible or not, they definitely have enough proof to back up their claims."

"Proof can be fabricated," Tenten suggested.

"I saw the contraption they arrived in," Gaara cut in. He looked up to the sky in thought as he finished, "It certainly was otherworldly. Not to mention well beyond those girls' engineering capabilities." Tenten remained quiet after that. She knew better than to refute the Kazekage's judgement.

"Hmmm," Lee went back to rubbing his chin. "If that is the case, then Kakashi should have mentioned it to the other Kage."

Kankuro held up a finger as he said, "But he didn't."

"That is odd," Lee commented.

"Right?" Kankuro asked. "That's what I'm saying."

"Well, whatever his reasoning, housing one of them will definitely keep us in the loop," Gaara stated.

They continued to walk in silence for a few moments, before Tenten asked, "How inexplicable?" Kankuro and Gaara frowned at the question, turning to the weapons specialist to clarify. "You said they had inexplicable knowledge. How inexplicable?"

"She knew my blood type," Kankuro answered with a huff. " _I_ don't even know my blood type."

Tenten frowned, opening her mouth to refute Kankuro's answer, when Gaara added as if reading her mind, "She also correctly stated my blood type. Not to mention gave intimate details about moments where only one other person was present."

"Apparently the other four pissed off Temari about her and Shikamaru's relationship," Kankuro added.

Tenten frowned. "I thought they were broken up."

"They are," Kankuro clarified. "But not many people outside of our circle knew they were even dating. It was kind of classified." Tenten made a face, somewhat satisfied with their answers.

"That seems rather thorough knowledge," Lee commented.

"Indeed," Gaara sighed, clearly thinking about how the girls could be problematic. Knowing as much as they did about any of them was problematic. Most of their Chunin exam classmates were high ranking jonin. Shikamaru was the Hokage's advisor, as well as head of the Nara clan. He'd been the only one to make Chunin in that exam. Both of his teammates had become heads of their clans. Both Kankuro and Temari were Sand Jonin with pivotal roles in the Suna Council. Temari had been the ambassador between the Wind and Fire nations for years. Gaara was Kazekage. Naruto was training to become Hokage in a few years. His succession as the planned seventh Hokage was made public when Kakashi took office as the sixth. Sakura was the lead medical ninja in Konoha's hospital, with people clamoring from other nations to learn from her. Kiba was about to step into his role as Inuzuka clan leader, and Hinata for the Hyuugas. All of them played pivotal roles in their respective villages, and anyone who knew such intimate details about them must be kept watch of.

"Anyway," Kankuro sighed, putting his hands in his pockets. "Lee," he trawled, rolling his head towards the taijutsu user, "last time we talked, you had hot date." Kankuro smirked, prodding Lee in the shoulder as he asked, "So, how'd it go?"

Gaara looked at the taijutsu user with wide-eyes. "You had a date?" It was a bizarre thought.

Lee turned away from their wards, a small blush crossing his cheeks as he said, "A gentleman does not kiss and tell."

Kankuro prodded him again, whining, "Come on. Tell us. How'd it go?"

"Well. But that is all I will say," Lee replied quickly.

Kankuro smirked. "Well done, Rock Lee! So a second date is on the books?"

Lee gave his signature sparkling gleam. "Of course!"

"I must admit," Gaara sighed, feeling a little inadequate given the subject, "I have difficulty seeing you dating."

Lee frowned. "What is that supposed to mean!?"

"No, I get it," Kankuro stated, covering for his brother. "There aren't many people with such a sunny and …" He paused, searching for the correct word. He screwed up his face, before he settled on, "… indefatigable disposition as you. It can be daunting for a girl if she's not a generally optimistic person." Lee raised his bushy brows at that. Kankuro continued, "So, what is she like? If she's agreed to a second date, she must be something."

Lee got a far off look in his eye as he grinned brighter, almost splitting his face in half. "She's beautiful. Purely bounding with the strength of youth. And her smile is brighter than the sun."

"What's her name?" Gaara found himself asking.

"Akiko," Lee sighed, still looking distant.

Kankuro pursed his lips before muttering, "She sounds perfect for you."

"She is!" Lee exclaimed excitedly. "Meeting her makes me believe that there is someone for everyone on this earth. You just have to find them."

Gaara frowned, not entirely sure he agreed with the sentiment. His only experiences in love had happened this year, and he still wasn't sure what the fuss was about, or if it was even worth the pain he'd witnessed thus far. It was February when Shikamaru and Temari made their first official push towards the altar, signing a waiver of intention for both village kages and councils. Gaara was shocked to be presented with the document. Sure, Temari pushed to be assigned on missions when she knew Shikamaru was involved. It's how she became Konoha's ambassador. But Gaara had failed to see how that meant his sister was in love with genius of the Leaf. When he asked Kankuro if he knew anything about it, his brother laughed it off, saying, "It's not like they were being discreet. She's had a thing for him since he outsmarted her at the Chunin Exams." That was when Gaara realized he didn't know what to look for between his own people when it came to matters of the heart. He also realized that was seriously problematic, because he might have difficulty determining if a ninja might be emotionally compromised in a situation, which could spell disaster on a mission.

Then the incident in March. The Suna Council had been deliberating Shikamaru and Temari's waiver of intention for a month. Gaara hadn't pressed the issue, knowing any step he made could result in the wrong answer, but Temari asked if a consensus had been reached every time she visited his office. Meanwhile, he read every Make-Out Paradise novel he could get his hands on, just to try and understand some aspects of dating and being in love. Needless to say, the novels cleared up very little, and if he was completely honest, he was a little more confused now than before. But, he also knew better than to ask anyone.

He didn't hear anything about the Council decision until they announced their intention of marrying him off first, completely taking him by surprise. He understood their reasoning. Both brothers were unlikely to marry, and if Temari married a clan leader from another village, any child would spell disaster politically. Konoha would potentially be without a major clan leader, and Suna without a Kazekage heir, depending on which village they chose to align with. So, the council stated that they would not greenlight Shikamaru and Temari's union until either Gaara or Kankuro were married.

A reasonable demand, until they added that an arrangement had been made that they expected Gaara to fulfill. To solve the issue in a timely manner, the Council had already arranged a marriage between a young medic ninja from a local clan to Gaara, and that he was to meet with her in a few days to see if the terms were acceptable. All standard procedure for these arranged marriages, he'd been assured. When Gaara questioned that surely Kankuro should be asked first, given his senior status, he'd found Kankuro had already weaseled out of it, leaving Gaara stuck in the unsavory situation. Gaara still had difficulty forgiving his brother for such a betrayal.

The meeting had been difficult. He had been trussed up in a suit, which had been rather stiff and difficult to move in, which provided its own set of challenges when the meeting was interrupted with a coup. But the meeting itself, talking with the girl, Hakuto, Gaara realized one crucial thing about himself. He was not cut out for the rigors of dating. The conversation had been painful, and all he learned about her was that she was a medic ninja from a prominent clan, which was a matriarchal clan. All of which he knew before. And she learned he had a hobby of growing cacti and was looking into getting a greenhouse just for that hobby. He remembered Temari making a face at him, mouthing, "Shut up about the cacti!"

Hakuto had been pretty. He wasn't so romantically dense that he couldn't tell she was attractive. But it was two days later, after thinking her kidnapped during the coup, did he prove she actually ran away with her lover, using the coup as an excuse to pursue love. Gaara wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth, and any opening he could find to escape this marriage, he planned on seizing. So, after finding her with her lover, he helped fake their deaths, and returned to Suna to deal with the person running the coup. A part of him felt bad, knowing not pursuing the marriage meant Temari and Shikamaru had to wait longer, but he was determined. If he was to be forced into this foray of romantic love, he'd do it on his terms.

A couple weeks later, sometime in early April, Matsuri came in for one of her usual discussions, but stopped when she noticed Gaara seeming weighed down. She knew he'd just gotten back from a council meeting. But she didn't know that the final topic of discussion was when to arrange another marriage. Before they could push the subject, he turned them down, stating he had a date with a woman later that evening. It was a lie, but the council seemed thrilled with the prospect that they didn't have to find someone, adding it would take them at least a month to find a new candidate. He didn't exactly tell Matsuri what the council said in the meeting. He just asked her for a favor. To pose as his girlfriend as she taught him about romance and dating, citing the arranged marriage meeting made him realize he was woefully inept. Matsuri laughed, and accepted eagerly, joking that it wasn't how she'd always imagined. She also asked that he do his best to make sure Temari didn't find out, stating that she knew Temari didn't think highly of her and his sister already stated she didn't approve of Matsuri's feelings toward Gaara.

So far, things had been going well. They'd gone on seven dates. While the first ended a bit awkwardly, as she clearly expected something and he wasn't sure what, she agreed to a second. And a third. Then on the fourth date, she told him that there wasn't going to be a fifth unless he kissed her. When he questioned if that was what he was supposed to do, she told him she was expecting it at the end of the first date, and on every date since. But if she waited until the fifth, it meant he didn't actually want to date her. And he did.

It wasn't a big kiss. Her lips were soft against his, and he realized the sensation wasn't as powerful as he'd read. In the Make Out Paradise series, the couple immediately felt the need to rub on each other and get sexual. But he didn't feel that. She was just soft and simple. And that was good. Before, he'd been terrified what would happen if he lost control of himself. If his sand would run amok as it used to when he was an emotional kid. But this was nice. Calm. Controlled. He remembered wondering how long was an appropriate amount of time for his lips to linger on hers? He figured having that thought meant it was long enough, and pulled away. And by her expression, he could tell she was surprised. He asked her how it was, and she told him it was good, although the way she said it was a little stilted. He would have tried again, but Kankuro stepped into his office, asking him to deal with Temari. That was when Temari told them she and Shikamaru broke up.

Shikamaru had come to Suna to see where the waiver of intention stood, stating they had put it forth two and a half months prior and Suna hadn't given a definitive answer. Temari had told him that the council wanted Gaara or Kankuro at least married first. They had a fight after Shikamaru joked that was never going to happen. That he heard from Hakuto that her family was pressured to accept the marital arrangement to begin with, and after the story of Hakuto's death he and Gaara came up with so she could be with the man she loved, the council would be hard-pressed to find another family willing. Especially since it had come out that the original attack on the marriage meeting had been part of a coup attempt. No one in their right mind would put their daughter in a targeted position.

Gaara went to see him before he left to return to Konoha, to try and talk some patience into him. It had been clear that the shadow user had been up crying, like Temari had been. What Shikamaru told him after Gaara told him he'd started dating someone stuck in his mind.

" _Do you love her?"_

_Gaara floundered at the question. "It's too early for that. We've only been on a handful of dates, and only kissed the once …"_

" _I didn't ask that. I asked if you loved her. If you're going to marry her." Gaara frowned, his seafoam eyes connecting with Shikamaru's light brown eyes. He could see he was tired. Emotionally tired. The shadow user blinked back tears as he said tightly, "Because I love Temari. I want to marry Temari. I_ know _that I do. But I can't. Because the council says I can't until you do."_

_Gaara felt uncomfortable under Shikamaru's hard stare. Gaara was able to remain stoic, but he couldn't help but feel a little pain in his heart at Shikamaru's disappointment. Like the young Kazekage could do better, but both of them knew that wasn't the case._

" _It's good you're dating. I'm truly happy for you. I understand it's more difficult for you to connect with someone on that level. But even dating is not a guarantee that the situation will change. So you can understand my skepticism." He paused looking beaten, pursing his lips before he said, "I can't put my whole life on hold waiting for you to marry someone. So, if the council won't budge on that … it's a deal-breaker."_

_Shikamaru turned, grabbing his pack and slinging it over his shoulder. He passed Gaara as he headed for the door, then paused in its opening. His hand bracing against the doorframe. "I feel I should also advise you, given the timing of your news, you shouldn't date anyone just so your sister can get married. That's not fair to you, and definitely not fair to whoever you're dating."_

_Gaara couldn't help but note that even though Shikamaru had broken things off with Temari, he still gave Gaara the sound council of an older, wiser brother. They shared a regretful look as Shikamaru tapped the doorframe with his knuckles. The shadow user let out a small sigh, then left, shaking his head._

The next day, Gaara pondered if he should break things off with Matsuri, wondering if he was dating her for the right reasons. When Gaara mentioned his moral dilemma to her after an hour of pestering, she flew off the handle, yelling at him, _"If this is your way of breaking up with me, you're doing a piss poor job at it!"_ then slammed the door. She came back the next day tearfully apologizing for her outburst, stating after she thought things over, it was understandable he'd be questioning himself. Then she asked if he felt he was getting anything out of their arrangement. To his surprise, he answered yes. He'd been gaining knowledge and insight on how men and women were meant to interact. She told him then for that reason, they would continue dating. And so they had. They went on three more dates, each with more kissing and the occasional hand holding, which was weird for Gaara, but he got used to it.

Although, the last time he saw her, he wouldn't consider it a date. It was a couple days before he was to set out for Konoha, and she stumbled into his office one evening, drunk from her friend's birthday party. Before he could ask her to sit down, she attacked his mouth with hers. He was too shocked to react as her tongue invaded his mouth, and the taste and smell of alcohol on her breath permeated his senses. It wasn't the type of kiss they'd shared before. Those were simple, soft, and most importantly closed. This was sloppy, wet, and invasive, and something in him was a little revolted. He'd barely noticed her hand caressing his buttocks until she gave his left cheek a tight squeeze, pressing his hips toward hers. He immediately pushed her away, putting his hand over his mouth quickly. For two reasons really. The first being to wipe away her saliva. The second to ward off any further attack.

" _What are you doing?" Gaara asked, his hand over his mouth. His seafoam eyes trained on his old student._

_Matsuri gave a playful shrug and a wispy smile. "Come on, Gaara. We've been together two months."_

" _And that gave you license to attack me?"_

_Matsuri rolled her eyes. "Ok, I wasn't attacking you, Mr. Melodrama," she slurred, waving off his question. "I simply figured if I kissed you_ correctly, _and none of that prolonged pecking bullshit, you'd finally start treating me like a woman and not some porcelain doll." His gaze narrowed on her in confusion._ Did she just say I'm a bad kisser? _Before he could analyze the depth of the insult she just threw at him, she began taking her shirt off, dropping it on the floor quickly, her chest bared to him._

_He felt his heart pounding in his throat as he stared at her breasts. She wasn't well-endowed by any means. Even the phrase "heaving bosom," which he had read in the Make-Out series over and over, didn't apply here. But there were breasts. Soft mounds of flesh. Her nipples were pink and rosy, and they looked a little stiff. Realizing he'd been staring, he looked away, feeling his cheeks burning with a blush._

_He felt her grab his hand, lifting and placing it on one of her breasts. He felt his eyes bulge as she pushed his palm into her flesh, her hand manipulating his into kneading it as she let out a moan. "I want you to touch me." She squeezed her hand over his again. She dragged his hand down to her hips, then between her legs, nearing her crotch as she rasped in his ear, "Deep inside me." He was frozen in place as her wine laced breath puffed against his ear, his mind a complete blank. He could feel his body betraying his mind as his dick began to harden a little._

_Contrary to what some people might think, he knew what sex was. He'd thoroughly read the book on human sexuality that Kankuro gave him, to make sure he didn't have any questions on the subject. The first conversation had been awkward enough._

_He could feel her heat on his hand, and she shifted her hips under his hand. Her hand brushed his crotch over his pants, and it throbbed aching for a touch. His brain rang like a siren and his heart pounded harder than when he had to address the whole Allied Forces. His sand shifted dangerously around him, as it did every time he was aroused._ I could really hurt her if I'm not careful, _he realized as his sand snaked around her ankle, up her calf. She moaned again, and he pushed her away, pulling his sand back under his control. She looked at him affronted, but he just crossed his arms and averted his gaze. "You're drunk, Matsuri. I think you should go."_

_She glared at him, crossing her arms under her breasts so they were propped up to look plumper. "What's you're deal? Here I am throwing myself at you, and even though I can see you want to do it," she pointed at the lump in his trousers, and he blushed more violently, "you won't." She licked her lips, and gave a small tearful swallow. "It can't be that you don't find me attractive. Your dick is proof enough. So what is it?"_

_Gaara leveled a painful stare at her as he growled out, "Go home, Matsuri."_

" _Fine," Matsuri spat, snatching her shirt off the ground and throwing it back on. "_ You _can fuck yourself. You sure as hell won't let me!" With that, she waltzed into the main hall, slamming the door on her way out of his office._

He didn't hear from her for two days after that. Just before he and his siblings headed out of Suna, he found a letter on his desk from Matsuri. It was a tear-stained apology letter, saying she made a fool out of herself, and did a lot of stuff she regretted on that night. But mostly she felt bad for pushing him to have sex, especially when she knew that he struggled with that kind of thing. And she promised something big when he returned in two weeks.

Lee's comment, "There was someone for everybody," he just wasn't sure was accurate. When Matsuri left that night, Gaara knew he wasn't as hurt as Temari and Shikamaru were when they broke things off. Sure, after not hearing from her the next day, he thought she was planning on breaking up, but the thought didn't make him sad. It was just benign. Sure, she was the most logical person to fill that role, but he was certain he could try again with someone else if need be. He knew that meant he wasn't in love with Matsuri. He knew that if he loved her romantically, she'd be irreplaceable romantically, but in all honesty, she wasn't. The thought made him feel a little guilty, but it was true.

And he certainly wasn't as sunny as Lee was talking about his date with this Akiko. Lee smiled like Temari did around Shikamaru before their breakup. Clearly, after only one date, Lee was already in love with this girl, Akiko. Is that how long it took to fall in love? Was he supposed to know he was in love with Matsuri on the first date? Is that why Shikamaru asked him if he was planning on marrying her so early in their relationship?

"Gaara? Gaaaara… Earth to Gaara!" Gaara blinked as Kankuro waved a hand in front of his face. He shook his head, realizing he'd been so deep in thought about his own experiences around love that he had completely missed the rest of the conversation. Kankuro smiled, curiously amused as he asked, "Little lost in thought there, Gaara?"

"Quit it, Kankuro," Gaara breathed.

"Well, you are planning on coming inside, right?" Kankuro asked, gesturing over his shoulder. Gaara looked and realized they were standing in front of the hotel.

Gaara buried his sheepishness, and said, "Of course," gesturing for Kankuro to lead the way.

"We will wait out here," Lee said, throwing the brothers an enthusiastic thumbs up.

Gaara followed behind Kankuro as they made their way to their room. It was on the second floor, and as they rounded the landing off the staircase, and turned down the hallway toward their room, they slowed, seeing their door open. Out walked a man in pristine clothes, a short-sleeve blue tunic tied closed with a black leather belt at his hips with black pants, banded similarly to an old pair Gaara used to wear, and standard Suna issue ninja sandals. Under his tunic peeked a three-quarter mesh top at the sleeves and chest. He was maybe the same height as Gaara, with a similar build as well. His face looked a little familiar, but Gaara couldn't place it. He had high cheekbones, a strong brow and jaw, a straight nose and full lips. His skin was peachy, but lightly tanned, and he had dark, thick but groomed eyebrows that matched his messy dark brown head of hair. He was young, but not much younger than the Kazekage himself, if Gaara had to guess. The man looked up, and his golden eyes widened as they connected with Gaara's cyan gaze.

"Oh shit," the man breathed.

Gaara acted quickly, whipping his sand around the man and securing him in place while he ordered, "Kankuro, check out the room." Kankuro gave a stiff nod, diving into the room.

The man laughed, his smile easy, but a little nervous. His teeth were perfect and white "I'm sorry. Trust me when I say this is all just a _big_ misunderstanding," the man tried. He spoke quickly, but remained oddly tranquil. His voice was deep, and a little raspy if Gaara listened closely, but it contrasted a little with his boyish lilt.

The sand squeezed him a little tighter as Gaara growled, "We'll see about that." Gaara turned a little towards the door, his eyes not leaving their intruder as he called out, "Kankuro. Did you find anything?"

"Looks like he was going through Cordi's things," Kankuro called out, stepping into the doorway, "but I can't tell if he took anything or planted something."

Gaara's eyes narrowed. _Why would someone be going through Cordi's things specifically?_ "So, who are you? Where are you from? And why are you interested in our guest?"

The man pursed his lips, and Gaara had to note he was staying remarkably calm, even though he was mostly engulfed in the Kazekage's sand. Usually, Gaara could feel someone's heartbeat quickening until bursting when covered in his sand. But this man, his heartbeat was calm, steady. The man smirked, looking to the ceiling with a slight wince as he said, "Well, I can't answer the first and third questions, but I'm from Suna."

Gaara and Kankuro frowned, although Kankuro more scowled, crossing his arms as he scoffed, "Cut the bullshit. We'd know who you are if you were from Suna."

"I'm not lying. Check the headband. It's tied to my belt loops," he offered, gesturing with his eyes to his hips.

Gaara and Kankuro shared a look, then with his sand, Gaara pulled the headband out. Sure enough, the Suna symbol was etched onto the metal plate, affixed to a black band. This opened up a whole new wave of questions. Like how come he didn't know his own ninja? And two, no one in Suna knew about Cordi yet, so why was a Suna ninja here snooping through her things? That meant one of two things, either the headband was a counterfeit, and Cordi was being targeted for something, and they were banking on Gaara putting the safety of his own ninja over her. Or it was real, and they were using Cordi's belongings to disguise their attack, making Gaara the likely target.

Gaara held the sand tight as he flipped the headband over in his hand, pulling the band away from the metal to expose the maker's mark. Having ordered thousands of these over the years, he knew exactly where the Sand got their headbands. As he looked at the metal, his glare narrowed on the maker's mark. The logo of Demon Desert Metals glittered back up at him, and his scowl landed on the young man. _So, I'm the target._

"He's from Suna," Gaara stated, his jaw tightening. Kankuro gawked his confusion, tilting his head to the side as he tried to place the young man. But Gaara's hand twitched a little as he said, "Which means he's targeting me, not Cordi. No one from Suna knows about her yet." Gaara glared at the man, knowing his intimidating demeanor often got people talking when he needed answers. That and this was clearly the beginning of another botched coup. Twice in six months? Usually, the council members behind these things spaced it out a bit better. His sand squeezed tighter, but the man acted unaffected, just slightly uncomfortable. "Who sent you?"

The man smirked. "You're not gonna' like that answer," he half chuckled.

"Who!" Gaara growled.

"You did!" the man replied glibly. Gaara frowned as the man grumbled, "And you're always giving me the wrong fucking time."

Gaara's scowl deepened. "You aren't making any sense." They hadn't been in Suna for almost a week, so Gaara couldn't have given any ninja's any orders since then, except to his brother and sister. And everyone in Suna knew he was out for the Summit and Chunin Exams. So, how someone could impersonate him was troubling.

The man rolled his eyes. "Look, not that this isn't any fun, but I got other shit to do."

"Like what?" Kankuro huffed, scowling at the young man.

"Like banging your mom!" the guy snapped back both sarcastically and defensively. Both Kankuro and Gaara looked at him affronted and angered, while the man winced disgustedly to himself. "I shouldn't have said that. That one's wrong on so many levels." He shook his head as if doing that would make the comment go away. "Look, I'm gonna' tell you how this is gonna' end. You could ask your questions, but I can't tell you anymore without serious consequences. So then you'll do your Sand Burial thing, and then I bounce. _OR_ , and this is the option I'm a fan of, you could just let me go, and we call it a day. And I _DON'T_ tell Mom you tried to kill me." The man shot Gaara a pearly white grin at that.

Both Kankuro and Gaara frowned, clearly confused by the unhinged man's offer. "Why the fuck would we care about your mother?" Kankuro snapped.

"I see, you've chosen option one," the man sighed. He shook his head slightly dejectedly. "It doesn't matter. My lips are tighter than Fort Knox right now."

Both of the Sand brothers frowned, and Gaara found himself asking, "What the fuck is Fort Knox?" The man just answered him with a dumb expression, his lips tightened in a line as if he wasn't saying anything.

Gaara scowled at the man, tired of his antics. "I will break you piece by piece if you don't start talking," Gaara growled.

The man's bored golden gaze connected with Gaara's. "Go ahead."

Gaara shook his head, lifting his hand as he growled, "Sand Burial." The sand squeezed the young man, but stopped short of crushing his left arm, where Gaara had targeted his Sand Burial. Gaara squeezed his hand tighter. " _Sand Burial_ ," he said again, enunciating.

"What's wrong?" Kankuro asked.

"I don't know. The sand isn't obeying me," Gaara growled, some alarm creeping into his voice.

The man shrugged noncommittally. "Performance issues," he offered, shooting Kankuro a conspiring wink. "Impotence is always a terrifying thing."

Both of the Sand brothers looked at the man alarmed. "Did you really just make a sex joke? About Gaara not being able to kill you?" Kankuro asked. The man had balls, he'd give him that. Bizarre, but he had balls. Not many people could face Gaara's Sand Burial and joke. But he was also the only one who lived, for sure.

"Yeah," the man drawled. He pulled his hand out of the Sand Coffin, causing both Kankuro's and Gaara's eyes to bulge in shock. "And now," he sighed, holding up his hand with a pitying smirk, "I'm gonna' bounce." With that, he snapped his fingers, and the sand fell away, dropping the young man to the floor. He put his hand in a simple hand sign, then sand began to lift itself off his clothes, filing itself away into a jug he had on his hip. Gaara and Kankuro couldn't help but watch in confused horror as the man grumbled to himself, "It's always a mess when we mix our sands." He fixed the stopper, then patted himself, muttering, "Now I'm forgetting something …" He looked around, then focused his gaze the headband still in Gaara's hand. "Ah." The young man stepped towards Gaara, who was frozen in shock at witnessing this young man's use of sand. The man reached for his headband, saying, "I'm just going to take this back," and pulled it effortlessly from Gaara's slacking hand.

_Another sand user._ That was impossible. Only Shukaku's host had powers over sand, and Gaara still had his connection with the bijuu. So that couldn't be it. And he was a Suna native, according to his headband, so he wasn't one of Orochimaru's demented experiments. He wouldn't put it past the snake to have an experiment aimed at replicating jinchuuriki powers. The Sand had done similar until the third Kazekage came up with his iron sand technique. But no one had actually been able to control sand, except as the Shukaku's host. "Who are you?" Gaara asked as soon as he regained his voice.

The man smirked. "I told you, I can't say," he replied. His gold eyes leveled onto Gaara's, and his smirk grew as he added, "But I can say that I don't pity the argument you're going to have tonight." Gaara's brow furrowed at that. _Argument? With who?_ The man rolled his eyes, pointing to himself as he added, "My tonight. Not yours." He straightened up, putting his hand in the simple hand seal again as he winked at Gaara, "See ya!"

Then in a whirl of sand, the man disappeared.

* * *

A couple miles away from the hotel, on the training grounds the girls agreed to meet at daily until Cordi was to go to the Land of Wind, Temari stood, watching Cordi run drill after drill. Cordi had begun to get the hang of summoning her fire and placing it into a fireball, but Temari wanted to see how she performed under stress. So, she set up a target course that Cordi had to run through, throwing fireballs at the targets as she ran. As Cordi rounded the last lap, Temari hit the stop on her timer, calling out, "TIME!" as Cordi reached the finish.

Cordi dropped to the ground, completely out of breath. She'd been on the varsity soccer team at school the past three years, and the cheerleading team for the past four. And yet, this drill made her feel like instead of being in shape and on highly competitive teams, she'd just been sitting on the couch eating bonbons for her high school career.

"Seven minutes, and forty-five seconds," Temari huffed, looking at the timer. "That is … abysmal."

"What?" Cordi rasped, gasping for air. "That's like three seconds shy of my mile time."

"I just had you run a mile," Temari stated blandly.

"What!?" Cordi gasped, holding her ribs, which had developed a cramp. "Eight minutes is the average for the mile run. 'Abysmal,' my foot!"

Temari frowned at the fire user. "Not here, it isn't."

Cordi just looked at the wind user skeptically. "Bullshit."

Temari smirked, handing Cordi the timer. "I'll show you."

Cordi huffed at her, still holding her side. She wanted to swipe that smug smirk right off that blondie's face. Instead, she swiped out, snatching the timer and clearing the time on it. Temari moved to the starting position, no starting lunge or anything. She just rested there, her hands on her hips and her giant fan strapped to her back. "You don't want to leave the fan?" Cordi offered. Cordi had run it unencumbered. It was only fair to offer the same.

Temari shook her head. "Just tell me when."

"Alright," Cordi shrugged, readying the timer. "Aaaand … GO!"

Temari took off like a shot, pulling out kunai and throwing them at each still burning target, nailing each in the bullseye as she sped through the course. Cordi watched in awe as Temari neared the end of the course. "Done," Temari stated once she crossed the finish line, not even out of breath.

Cordi clicked the timer, then looked. "A minute, thirty-three."

Temari shrugged. "Usually, I can handle it in a minute fourteen, but I wanted to make sure I lined up my shots. And it's almost lunchtime, so my chakra's a little low." She didn't say it to be catty. She was just saying it. Temari wasn't that much of a braggart. Cordi knew she wasn't the fastest ninja on the show. But damn.

Cordi just shook her head, her jaw hanging open unfathomably. "Fuck you," she finally said. Temari looked at her a little affronted as Cordi continued to rant, "Fuck you and your ninja chakra bullshit."

"Cordi," Temari tried, but Cordi kept ranting.

"You and your _**minute and a half**_ mile run! USAIN FUCKING BOLT COULDN'T PULL THAT SHIT OFF! _And_ _ **he's**_ the fastest motherfucking person on the _PLANET_. Gold medals out the wa-fucking-zoo at the last Olympics for running! For an extra credit question on my physics exam, I had to math out his mile run, and got four minutes, twenty seconds, which was CORRECT!" She was now half screeching, half yelling, and gesticulating wildly as she paced. "SO TELL ME! Tell me how THE FUCK am I supposed to beat the fastest man alive's time!?"

Temari looked at her bored, her green eyes boring back into Cordi's dark brown eyes. "You done?"

Cordi was shaking as she looked at her, chewing on the inside of her cheek. "Depends on how you answer."

Temari sighed. "The shunshin, or body flicker technique, allows a ninja to run at incredible speeds. To do it, concentrate your chakra in your legs, which allows you to move faster."

Cordi glared at her, pursing her lips as she nodded along with Temari's instructions. She gave the jonin a sardonic smile as she laughed, "Yeah. Chakra in my legs." Cordi raised her eyebrows as she nodded. "Sounds like it'll work." Temari smiled, happy her student understood the concept at least. Cordi made a thinking face, putting her finger to her lips as she added, "One problem though."

Temari frowned. "What?"

"I don't _have_ any chakra!" Cordi snapped, glowering at Temari. Temari made a face that told Cordi her statement didn't compute, so Cordi continued. "Where I'm from, Chakra does not exist. It's not a thing. There is no such thing as a 'Chakra Network' in one's body." She used hand quotes around "Chakra Network" to emphasize her frustration. "There are ancient Asian philosophies that aligning your chakras or chi will grant you full mastery of your body, as well as enlightenment. BUT NOT magical powers like superhuman speed!"

Temari rolled her eyes. "You're being ridiculous. Every living thing has chakra."

"You wanna' go get Hinata again?" Cordi argued, pointing back into Konoha. "Kakashi already had her take a look at our 'chakra' and said there was none. No network. Zip. Zilch. Nada!"

Temari crossed her arms and gave Cordi a skeptical look as she huffed, "Then explain how you do your fire ninjutsu."

Cordi shot her a look, and asked, "I'm sorry, do you see any hand signs when I do this?" She summoned a fireball, then extinguished it with her fist. Temari pursed her lips as Cordi shook her head. "It's magic to me. That's all I got. I don't feel energy, or chi, or chakra. I just hold out my hand and will it there." She did it again as she explained how she did it, and then extinguished it again, putting her hands on her hips.

Temari gave a small pout, muttering, "You're gonna' be a pretty slow ninja if you can't figure out how to shunshin."

Cordi rolled her eyes, but as her gaze drifted upward, she saw just over the tree line something red flying towards them. She frowned as she stepped past Temari, seeing Aleera, who had grown the size of a dog, flying towards them with something tied to her neck. "Aleera! What the heck are you doing!? You're supposed to be hiding in the hotel room!"

"A man came by to give you something," Aleera huffed back as she floated down to Cordi's arms.

Cordi scowled at her dragon as she held her up awkwardly. "You are supposed to stay quiet in the bathroom if you hear people."

The dragon clutched onto her shirt, snuggling her snout into the crook of Cordi's neck as she replied, "I know. But he kinda' smelled like you. And he knew my name. AND he said I could trust him because he was your son."

Cordi and Temari shared a nervous look as the fire user nervously replied, "Aleera. I don't have a son."

Temari stepped over, fingering the note tied to Aleera's neck. She frowned as she read it.

"What does it say?" Cordi asked.

Temari's green gaze flicked to Cordi's, then back to the sheet of paper. "'Hide me better, Mom. Gaara almost found me. PS: Try Konoha's Forest of Death.'" Temari pursed her lips, dropping it as she added, "It looks like someone tried to mimic Gaara's handwriting, but didn't get it quite right."

Cordi's heart pounded at this. Someone had found her dragon, and had written her a cryptic message. It felt like a threat. And why was some guy claiming to be her son. She was only seventeen. If it wasn't for her chastity promise, any child she could logically have could only be a toddler, not a fully-grown man. "Where is this man?" Cordi asked her dragon. "Could you lead me to him?"

Aleera nodded, flapping her wings as she pulled away from Cordi. She flew back into the forest, and Cordi and Temari chased after her. After a distance, Aleera spiraled around a random tree in the forest, looking confused. "He was right here." She stated as she landed at the tree's trunk.

Cordi looked around nervously, up in the trees, further into the forest. She didn't see anything, and exhaled nervously out her nose. Temari walked to the trunk and knelt, looking at something on the ground. Cordi watched the experienced ninja carefully. "Do you see something?"

Temari picked up something that looked like a large grain of sand. "Weird," she breathed. The blonde kunoichi turned back to Cordi and stated, "This is chakra laced sand. Very similar to Gaara's."

Cordi's eyes went wide as her heart plummeted. Did Gaara know? Was he going to interrogate her? Take Aleera away? "Is it his?" she asked, praying it wasn't.

Temari shook her head. "It doesn't feel like his chakra. It's similar, but it's not his." Temari straightened, squeezing the grain of sand as she inspected it further. "Strange." She shot Cordi a look as she added, "Sand manipulation only occurs in the Shukaku's jinchuriki."

Cordi shared a worried look with Temari. "Do you think the Akatsuki's making jinchuriki's."

Temari pursed her lips with a queer smile. "No," she scoffed. "First, the Akatsuki have been disbanded for several years."

Cordi frowned. "Then what happened with the tailed beasts and Madara? No one's ever told us."

The blonde straightened up. "Well," she sighed, pulling out a container from her pouch, and putting the grain of sand in it, "to start with, Madara wasn't actually Madara. But that's a really long story. As for the tailed beasts, they were released from the ten tails, and the five kage agreed to let the beasts roam free instead of enslaving them in jinchuuriki. Naruto and Killer Bee were allowed to remain jinchuriki, but most of the tailed beasts can be found stalking their old biomes. Shukaku can be found roaming the Demon Desert to the southwest of Suna."

Cordi pursed her lips in a pensive look before asking, "And he's good out there?"

Temari made a weird face. "Are you actually worried for the sand demon?" Temari asked, pocketing the container.

Cordi mirrored her expression as she huffed back, "I mean, when you release an animal to the wild that's been in captivity for a while, you want to make sure it can thrive. That it won't be captured, or hunted. Usually where I'm from, a tracker is put in the animal, and checked on annually."

"Well," Temari grumbled, "we aren't in your world. And the Shukaku isn't an animal." She let out a sigh, placing her hands on her hips, watching the red dragon land and trot up to Cordi. "The better question is what are we going to do about Aleera? It's possible that the note was telling the truth, and Gaara almost found her."

Cordi looked down at Aleera closely. "It's true," Aleera stated. "The man had to help me sneak out. I heard them coming down the hall."

"If that's the case," Temari started, "then Aleera can't stay at the hotel anymore. That much is clear."

"Yeah," Cordi sighed, putting her hands on her hips as well. "She's getting too big, anyway." She licked her lips in thought for a second, then finished, "I probably need to talk with the other girls about finding a new place for them." Temari nodded in agreement. Whatever the answer was, it would be decided by the other girls, not Cordi and Temari.


	6. Chapter Five: Side Hustle

"Damn, that was a workout," Fred huffed, rubbing sweat off her brow.

Rox slouched next to her, hands on her knees as she tried to steady herself. "I know, right?"

Lynne wasn't as worn as the previous two, and leaned over to Rox, asking, "You think she was taking something out on us?" Rox smiled at that with a small laugh.

"What was that?" Temari asked, standing behind Lynne with her hands on her hips.

Lynne looked back up sheepishly, waving a hand over her face as she replied quickly, "What? Oh, nothing. I said nothing."

Temari crossed her arms with a smirk. "That's what I thought."

Cordi made a face, looking at the resolute Sand Kunoichi. "You don't have to be so harsh," she tried, shooting a nervous glance at her sister, who was breathing rather heavily. Roxanne Turner had been diagnosed with sports induced asthma her freshman year of high school playing on their school's junior varsity soccer team. Cordi remembered going to the doctor's office with her and hearing the diagnosis, thinking it was strange since out of their whole group, Rox was always the most fit. She always had the fastest mile time in her class. She was asked to be on the varsity volleyball team since fall Freshman year, as well as cheerleading, and then soccer in the spring. Training like this could spell trouble for Roxanne if she wasn't careful.

Temari frowned, "They were late, so now they have to catch up to you."

"We were not late!" Ronnie huffed, wiping her sweat off her face with her hand.

"Yeah," Fred rebutted, "we were stuck in a goddamn classroom with a bunch of eleven-year-olds as part of our living arrangements." She straightened up, rubbing her back as she grumbled, "Would be so much less embarrassing if they had like a ninja night school for people older than thirteen."

Temari raised an eyebrow at the remark. She hadn't thought Kakashi had been serious when he said they would be training at the school to become ninjas. They were older than the average genin. By the time she was their age, she'd made Jonin and was the Suna ambassador in Konoha. What she gathered from what Cordi had told her of their home dimension, all five of them had graduated their basic courses, become legal adults (with the exception of Cordi, who would hit legal adult in a few months), and were well on their paths of final academics towards their careers.

Even so, in the current world of ninjas, there were varying ages of legal adulthood. Eleven or twelve was the average age one started their career, and was when one was allowed to be considered legally independent. Eighteen was when the laws around the three prohibitions opened up. Once a person hit eighteen, they were allowed to drink, gamble, and marry. Most people Temari's age were married and working on having children, and she was only twenty-three, almost twenty-four. Some were even on their second child.

She understood the frustration in Winnifred's tone. It was difficult to see yourself back at square one in life while everyone else your age is already moving on through adulthood. Temari licked her lips, realizing she probably should go a little easy on them. They were new to this world, and they weren't necessarily built to become ninja.

She placed her hands on her hips in an authoritative stance and declared, "Well, now that you've run your laps, we are going to figure out your powers' triggers. Cordi has already found hers." She gestured to Cordi who conjured a fireball in her hand with general ease. "So, she just needs to master it. Cordi, while they find their triggers, you should do some hand exercises. Summon a flame to each finger, then a fireball in your palm. Then extinguish and try the other hand. You should practice that until it feels completely natural."

Cordi nodded, and began doing her hand exercises while Temari turned to the other girls. "Now for you. We only have a couple hours to do this, and if you're going to be in school every day for the housing arrangements, you are going to be getting a lot less training than Cordi. So, I'll only be able to do minimal ninja training with you, and mostly work on you perfecting your elements. The first thing I want you to do is try to conjure your element into a ball."

Lynne crossed her arms with a weird expression. "And what about me?"

"Right," Temari breathed, looking at the spirit user. "You just read minds, right?"

Lynne shrugged. "I haven't tried anything else." She got a weird smile as she thought, "Although, most movies and such practiced psychic abilities by bending spoons."

Temari nodded, although found the idea strange. "Ok, today, why don't you focus on meditation. Tomorrow, I will bring some spoons for you to bend."

"Metal spoons," Lynne suggested.

Temari nodded, then turned to the other three girls as Lynne plopped herself on the ground, sitting with her legs crossed, and her hands rested on her knees. Lynne closed her eyes and began focusing on her breathing, while the other girls held out their hands and began to focus on their elements. It took a little while, but Ronnie was the first to produce water, but a large stream of water forming from the air and fell on her like a giant waterfall, drenching her completely as she let out a yelp.

Rox and Fred yelped and jumped away to prevent getting splashed. Temari threw up her hands, but was still splashed on her legs. "That was good," Temari complimented, drying herself off. "A bit much. But good! What were you doing to do that just now?"

Ronnie frowned, flicking her hands free of water and wringing her hair out. "Listening to the river and wishing I was swimming rather than sweating my ass off. I could practically feel the cool water on my skin."

Temari nodded, "You were subconsciously focusing on the flow of water, and willing it here." Ronnie shrugged, but Temari knew. "Try to focus on the flow of water and will it into forming a ball."

Ronnie nodded, holding her hand out again, and after a few minutes, streams of water flowed through the air and from the ground into a ball. She smiled as it coalesced, whirling together. "I … I did it!"

Temari smiled back. "Yes. Now try to separate it into small droplets, then release the water without getting yourself wet," she instructed. Ronnie nodded, putting her other hand over the ball, and splitting it, then closing her hands and the water further divided into ten large droplets. She smirked as she flicked her fingers, sending them flying at Cordi.

Cordi spluttered as she was pelted with water, and Ronnie shrieked with laughter. "RONNIE!" she howled, giving chase. Ronnie grinned, sprinting around the course as Cordi raced after her. The dragons lifted their heads, their gazes following the two youngest women's race lazily as Cordi screeched, "You'll pay for that!"

Temari pinched the bridge of her nose, huffing that she'd deal with that in a minute.

"I-I think I got it!" Rox cheered, her tone breathy as a small tornado formed in the palm of her hand, snagging a few petals from the flowers and Fred's feet, spinning them around in its current. "What you told Ronnie about the currents clicked."

Temari smirked at this. She could see from how quickly Rox picked it up, she'd be a formidable wind user after some training. She didn't even need a fan to summon wind like that. "Good," Temari praised. "Now, some wind users, if they're strong enough, can form wind into something like a ball, or bullets, or a blade. Try to give the wind form, and then calm it down. Then repeat that until you feel confident enough to do the same with stronger winds."

Rox nodded, putting her other hand over the tornado with a curious frown. "I have to ask, how do you know these exercises will help."

Temari pursed her lips. "Well," she sighed, "when I was seven, my Dad started teaching my younger brother, Gaara, how to control his sand to try and prevent serious issues when he'd have temper tantrums." Her eyes got a far-off glimmer as she remembered those days. "One day I got curious, since Uncle Yashamaru and Dad kept Gaara away from Kankuro and I for the most part. So, I snuck down to the Kazekage training hall and watched Dad teach him."

"Gaara is the redhead we ran into the first day, right?" Fred asked Rox quietly.

Rox nodded, muttering, "Y'know, you live here now. You should really learn their names."

Fred rolled her eyes. They weren't going to be there that long. She was sure of that.

"It's your turn, Fred," Temari stated, turning to the eldest girl of the group of friends.

Fred frowned. "Well, it's not like rocks and plants have currents."

"No," Temari sighed. "What my father told Gaara will probably work better for you. You need to feel rooted, and pull what you need up."

Fred frowned further, but decided she'd give the instructions a chance. She planted her feet and focused on the feeling of being rooted in place, but pulling something up. After a while, she began to strain, then there was a release as a rock from the ground floated in front of her.

Temari looked on a little surprised. She'd been expecting flowers or a plant of some kind, but apparently rock and the ground counted as part of her power. She licked her lips as she saw Fred grin. "Ok, for your practice, you should try to pull up more rocks, and see how many you can hold in an instance. The bigger the better."

Over the next hour and a half, the girls practiced, honing their skills. Fred found she could hold up to ten rocks, and finished her day by summoning a giant boulder. Cordi sustained a double flamethrower for over a minute. Ronnie made it literally rain over the training field for thirty seconds. And Rox summoned a small tornado. Lynne remained silent as she meditated on her stump, and they turned to see how she was doing with surprise.

"Lynne?" Cordi called.

The spirit user opened her eyes for the first time in the hour and a half with a curious expression, seeing her friends staring at her with wonder. Even Temari looked surprised. "What?" she asked.

"You're floating," Ronnie stated with a bewildered grin.

"What!?" Lynne gasped, but before she could look, she yelped as she fell painfully on her butt. She huffed, rubbing her sore tailbone.

"So, now you can fly?" Temari asked, somewhat flummoxed.

"More like levitate, I guess," Lynne grumbled as she pulled herself to stand.

Temari frowned. "What's the difference?"

Lynne shrugged. "No additional aerial movement," she replied, sticking her hands in her pockets. She looked at the other girls, stating, "I guess it's safe to assume you all learned to control your powers?"

The girls began to nod affirmatively. "You all still have a long way to go," Temari answered for them. She let out a sigh, asking, "This ninja academy thing, is it going to be every day?"

The girls staying in Konoha nodded and grumbled a small, "Yeah."

Temari huffed. "That's really going to cut into any training time I could give you."

The girls all frowned pensively, trying to think what they could do to change that. They needed to learn to control their powers, almost more so than they needed to learn the history of the Ninja world. "What do you suggest?" Rox asked first.

Temari frowned. "Well, keep doing those practices when you can. They'll help." She looked at the sun, seeing it falling low on the horizon. "It's getting late. Gaara and Kankuro will start wondering where we are," she breathed nervously.

"Especially after that moment with your son, Cordi" Aleera piped in from the dragons lounging in the back. The comment earned some confused looks from the other girls.

"Son!?" Rox gasped incredulously.

Cordi shot her dragon a frown as she huffed, "We've been over this. I don't have a son."

"But he said he was," Aleera shot back. "And he smelled like you."

Cordi was about to yell at her dragon to shut up when Temari cut in, "She's right. Gaara and Kankuro are probably on edge if they ran into him. We should go!" Temari began walking off, back into town. Cordi shot her friends a sorry look, then turned to follow the Sand kunoichi.

"Wait!" Ronnie called to them, getting them to stop in their tracks. "We needed to discuss where we're hiding the dragons." They frowned turning to the rest of the group as Ronnie explained, "At the academy today, we discussed that our dragons have already gotten too big for our dorms. I mean, look at them." She gestured to the rest of the dragons that were lounging around like large dogs. "And I doubt Aleera can stay in the hotel long"

Cordi looked at her dragon and frowned. Ronnie was right. Aleera had gotten too big already to stay housed in the hotel without issue. Not to mention the letter on her neck when Aleera flew into the training ground said Gaara almost found her. "What do you propose?" Cordi asked, chewing on her lip. It was a little nerve wracking, not knowing where her dragon was or what she was doing, precisely. But it was also scary knowing that at any moment, Gaara could stumble on this secret and react negatively.

Ronnie put her hands in her pockets, turning to the rest of the group. Fred shrugged, while Lynne stepped forward, stating, "We think they need to be somewhere heavily wooded to hide them, good size game, and low pedestrian traffic."

"And lots of water for Nessie," Ronnie added quickly, gesturing to her tired blue dragon. Even with the constant rain cloud Ronnie had conjured over her, Nessie looked close to wilting.

Suddenly, the post script on the letter clicked for Cordi. "The Forest of Death," she said quickly, earning strange looks from everyone. "It's dense, with lots of game for them to hunt. Almost no one goes in there ever, except for the second part of the Chunin exam, which is already done." She looked back to Temari for verification on the second part, which she nodded agreeably with. Cordi finished with, "And it's got a large river in the middle of it for Nessie."

"You're right!" Rox cheered, then frowned as she asked, "But where is it?"

"Temari knows!" Lynne reminded them, pointing to the blonde kunoichi who looked slightly taken aback.

Temari frowned as she replied, "Yes, but I don't have time to take you there."

"Doesn't matter," Lynne replied, rushing over to the side of the training field where they dumped their purses. She pulled out a map of Konoha and a pen, stating, "I had Shikamaru find me a map of the city the first day so we could find our way around. But the Forest of Death isn't really marked on here." She held it out to Temari, asking, "Would you mind marking it down for us. Then we'll go take the dragons right now, so you don't have to worry about sneaking Aleera back."

Cordi made a "That's plausible" expression, before shooting a strange look to Temari. Temari frowned, looking at all the girls staring up at her full of hope. She let out a sigh. It was a good idea. She grabbed the map and pen, opening the map until she found the small circle inside the city wall. "Here is the forest," she explained as she marked it. "It's the forty-fourth training ground. And we are here," she marked a second spot several blocks south east of the forest, "on the twenty-third training ground." She handed the map and pen back to Lynne, stating, "You can get to the entrances rather easily from here by going through the other training grounds, but just warning you, you might run into some ninja that way. But going that way will make it easier to hide the dragons."

Lynne nodded, looking carefully at the map, then slung her purse over her shoulder. "Come on! We gotta' move quickly." The other girls followed her lead, the dragons picking themselves up as the girls grabbed their bags.

Cordi turned to Aleera, scratching behind her horn as she said, "You be good, you hear? Stick with the other dragons, and you follow their every direction." She gestured to her friends. "Got it?" Aleera gave a resolute nod, then fluttered over to them. Cordi watched as her friends moved out in a different direction, worry filling her heart as she watched her dragon fly off with them.

"Cordi!" Temari hissed. "We have to go!"

"Coming!" Cordi called back. She followed behind Temari quickly, doing her best to keep up with the Sand kunoichi's brisk pace.

As soon as they walked through the door of their hotel suite, both of Temari's brothers were on them. Kankuro was the more aggressive one as Gaara just stood from his chair, looking at both women a little skeptically. "Where have you been!?" Kankuro barked.

"Out," Temari stated blandly.

Kankuro glared at his sister's flippant answer, then his dark gaze flicked to Cordi. "Out," she repeated, looking towards the kitchenette to avoid his glare. The puppeteer glowered at her, grumbling something incoherent.

"What?" Temari asked. "Speak up."

"You've both been gone all day," Gaara started instead, his expression calmer than Kankuro's but there was still a glimmer of worry in his eyes. "After the incident this afternoon, we were worried."

"What incident?" Temari asked. Cordi was shocked by how inconspicuous and sincere she sounded as she asked it, like Temari didn't have a hint of what they were talking about.

"We found a guy going through Cordi's things," Kankuro answered seriously. He turned to the dirty-blonde apologetically, stating, "We don't know if he got anything or…"

"I'll go take a look," Cordi said quickly, running back to hers and Temari's room to look through her things. Maybe there was a clue as to who this guy was who claimed to be her son. She dug through her items as Temari remained in the lounge area with the brothers, discussing the incident.

"So, did you get a good look at him?" Temari asked. "Was he a ninja?"

"That's the weird thing," Kankuro started, pacing around nervously as Gaara stood, watching Cordi run through hers and Temari's room. "He claimed he was a ninja from Suna. Gaara even confirmed the headband was standard Suna issue."

"Hmmm," Temari murmured, following her brother's description.

"He also seemed oddly familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on how," Kankuro added. "And he had sand powers!"

Temari shot a look at Gaara to gauge what he thought of it, only to be met with her youngest brother's own discerning glare. Gaara had always been really good at reading people, and she could see in his expression he was onto something weird with her. She looked away quickly, turning to Kankuro as she asked, "Sand powers? That's strange."

"There's a flash drive in my laptop," Cordi said, bringing one of her devices out. The Sand siblings turned to her. She pointed to a small attachment sticking off the side. "This isn't mine."

"What does that mean?" Gaara asked. "What's a flash drive?"

Cordi set the device on the table and sat down looking at it carefully as she opened it up. "A flash drive holds files, like documents, or pictures, videos or whatever. When it's plugged into a computer, you can access them."

The Sand siblings crowded behind her to see what was on her screen as she signed in, blushing as she typed in her password, praying Gaara didn't notice it was his name. The laptop was a graduation present, and she hadn't hunted down a good screensaver for it yet, thank God. She couldn't imagine the mortification if she'd found a Gaara screensaver, as she'd been planning, only to have the Kazekage see it.

As it came up, it showed a Word document open, and she began to read it.

" _Dear Mom,_

_I know you've only been here a few days now, and I'm sorry to tell you, you're going to be here a long time. Long enough to have me, at least. Only recently have you found out how to cross back over. So, to ease your current transition, since you'll be here a while, Dad had me go compile some things from your home to keep your family close. You always said, "Blood is thicker than water," so we know how important it is to you._

_On the flash, you'll find a video message from Grandma Lori and Grandpa Ned, and from Uncle Travis from my time. Some old photos to get framed. And Grandma Lori wanted me to pass on some digital copies of the old family videos. I also did the same for Aunt Fred, Aunt Ronnie, and Aunt Lynne. And just a little extra, I've added some music to your playlists that you told us "Speaks to your soul," but that you lost a long time ago, my time._

_Love,_

_Your son (Sorry, but my name's a giveaway.)_

_PS: I know he's reading this over your shoulder now. So, Lord Kazekage, Time Travel is a bitch.  
PPS: Tell Lord Kakashi to look up Mr. Youshida in Konoha's records."_

"How did he know …" Kankuro started to ask, but Cordi quickly opened up her files, seeing folders labeled Turners, Buchanans, and Belfocos. Cordi clicked on Turners, and the folder opened with videos and pictures. She clicked on the first video.

" _Is it working?" The voice was youthful, deep and a little raspy._

" _Yeah, it looks like the red light is on."_

Cordi gasped, lifting her hand to her mouth as she breathed, "Mom?"

" _Ok. Cool." The camera panned up from the wooden floor and centered on Cordelia's mom in front of their bar full of wine and liquor with a cabinet full of different glass goblets hanging above it._

_Lori Turner was always well dressed, and looked like an older version of Cordi, but her body type was more pear than hourglass. Cordi could tell she was much older in the video than she was when she left. Her mom's hair had started graying near the front, but surprisingly still held most of its color. It was longer than her usual length, but only just an inch or so, and it was curled. She still looked somewhat youthful except the wrinkles developing around her eyes. Her dark brown eyes were framed by cat-eye glasses. Her smile was pearly and straight, her lips painted with pale pink lipstick. "So, what is this for?" her mother asked._

" _We thought Mom and Aunt Rox would appreciate seeing a video where they could see you and Gramps, and Uncle Travis."_

" _And your Aunt Tara?"_

It was at this point Gaara looked at his siblings who were watching the video over Cordi's shoulder, trying to decipher it. Once he got their attention, he jerked his head back to the bedrooms, and they gave agreeing nods, moving back to the bedrooms. As soon as he closed his bedroom door with Kankuro inside with him, he created his sand eyeball, sending it out to the lounge area where Cordi was. "Third eye, opened."

"What are you doing?" Kankuro hissed.

"I don't want her to think we are spying on her, but at the same time, it's imperative we know who is essentially living with us in Suna the rest of her life," Gaara replied quietly, using his eye to watch as his ear was pressed to the door. Kankuro leaned in as well, and Gaara shot him an annoyed look, but didn't chide him for it.

_The man laughed. "Well, yeah. I guess Aunt Tara, and their kids." He held up a hand, adding, "One rule. You can't use any of our names. Not mine, not Dad's, and not Unk's. None of our names."_

_Lori laughed. "That's a strange rule."_

" _Well, this is going back to when Mom and her friends just got there." Her mother nodded along as if she understood as he explained, "So any telling giveaways are problematic."_

" _Right. Cordelia did say something about your ability."_

" _Yeah," the man replied a little awkwardly. "So, it's when they went missing. Is there anything you want to say to Mom and Rox?"_

_Lori frowned. "Well, when it happened, I wanted them to come home. At least know they were safe. Nothing is more important to me than them. I don't know if Cordelia told you, but Ned and I had trouble for many years to have children. Miscarriages, even after we had Travis. I thought that was the most difficult time I'd have to endure, but then I lost my girls." She got choked up, then smiled. "Those first few years were really difficult, but we never gave up hope on them. And now they're here, and so happy. And I couldn't be prouder of them. They've grown into wonderful, strong women, good wives, and even better mothers. And their husbands, both very fine gentlemen. I just wish you all were here." She reached for the man's hand, and squeezed it._

" _Sake?!"_

Cordi's breath hitched as she asked, "Dad?"

" _No, we don't have sake. But if you want a warm drink, maybe you can try the drink Cordi and I created before they went to your world. It's called Poison Apple." Just then, Cordelia's father stepped into the screen, his hair white and his eyes a piercing stormy-sea blue. He wore glasses now, which was new. For most of Cordi's life, he had perfect eyesight. That and the hair was the only way to tell a significant chunk of time had passed. "Lori, honey, did you get the apple cider?"_

_She nodded, pointing back over his shoulder. "It's in the fridge."_

" _Do you mind helping me heat it up?"_

" _Why don't you ask Cordi?" Lori offered. "I'm sure she'll want a mug."_

_Her father made a face and shrugged. He stepped back, calling up, "Cordi! D'ya want a poison apple?"_

_The response from above was quick. "HELL YEAH!"_

" _Then help me prep the mugs!" He turned back to Lori and the man, reaching past Lori to the bar as he said, "I need Hot Damn and spiced rum." He grabbed two bottles and took them to the kitchen. The man followed Ned into the kitchen, and the camera caught an older Cordelia skipping into the kitchen, her hair long and almost black, making her almost unrecognizable._

_She looked healthy and lithe, her figure intact and shown off by a red turtleneck and dark blue skinny jeans tucked into black boots. Nothing like what Cordelia imagined herself to look like in the future. She'd always been dirty blonde. When did her hair turn black? Her dark brown eyes found the camera, and she gave it a weird face. "Why do you have a camera?"_

" _Thought you'd like our Christmas festivities recorded."_

_Cordelia scoffed. "Ok." She reached into a cupboard and pulled out several mugs while Ned got a jug of cider from the fridge, pouring it into a pot and setting it on the stove to heat._

_Ned sighed. "I can't believe your sister brought home a ringer."_

_Cordi laughed. "Oh, did he beat you?"_

" _Beat me?" Ned scoffed self-deprecatingly. "He creamed me! I made one mistake, and he took my whole game apart."_

_Cordi shook her head as she poured the spiced rum into the mugs. "Rox told you. He's really good at games of strategy."_

" _Someone beat you at chess?" Lori asked, sounding shocked._

_Cordelia frowned at her mother. "You say that like I haven't beaten Dad. I used to. A lot, remember?"_

" _Yes, but that's because you don't play normal. You've never played normal with any strategy game," Ned defended, stirring the cider. "He played smart. You play crazy."_

" _I play chaos," Cordelia corrected, mixing the last of the alcohol in._

" _How do you play chaos?" the man asked._

_Cordi smirked. "The philosophy behind chaos strategy is simple," she answered, leaning over the counter. "If I don't know what I'm doing or going to do, you sure as heck can't guess what I'm going to do."_

_Ned turned around, looking directly at the man holding the camera. "It sounds stupid. But Cordelia has on multiple occasions pulled a hairbrained move on me in chess that on one hand makes no sense, but on the other hand is completely genius –"_

" _It's funny how often those two coincide," Cordi joked, beaming proudly._

"— _that will leave me stumped for hours," Ned finished, grabbing a ladle and adding, "The cider's done."_

_Cordi turned with several mugs ready for her father to ladle the cider in. "You know, if you wanted to play a strategy game with our husbands, and have a chance at winning, maybe you should try Risk."_

_Ned's eyes lit up as he looked at his daughter. "RISK!"_

" _RISK!" another man whooped from across the house, racing into the room. The man looked like an older version of the intruder from that afternoon. He had dark brown, almost black hair buzzed short, lightly tanned skin, and golden eyes that shone with excitement as he joined the conversation. "Yes, please! It's been ages!"_

"Travis," Cordi sighed wistfully, sniffling and wiping her eyes.

" _NO!" Lori howled. "Cordelia Rose Turner! Or whatever your name is now! I cannot believe you suggested that game!"_

" _What's Risk?" the cameraman asked._

" _Risk is an amazing game of world domination!" the man explained with a manic grin._

" _It's also been known to never end until someone flips the board," Lori added, sounding very annoyed. "Not to mention cause serious fights." At that, Lori shot a dark look at her husband who only smiled sheepishly in response._

_Travis waved her off, "Only you flip the board, Mom."_

" _Yeah," Cordi chimed in. "Usually when you're not even playing."_

_Lori glowered at her bookend children, replying, "Only if an argument over another broken treaty has reached the hour mark."_

_Travis ignored her, pointing at Ned and Cordi. "Who's playing?"_

" _I was suggesting Dad play with –"_

The video cut off. Cordelia pursed her lips as she felt the aching in her chest and throat. She missed them, and now that she thought of it, she hadn't processed just how much she would. And the man, who after watching the video, she was convinced was her son from the future, even though she didn't see him, had said it would be a while before they would return. He said only recently, and in the video, the man was … well, a man. And judging by her age in the video, she was at least mid-thirties. Twenty years, if she had to guess. That was how long it would take to get home.

She wouldn't see or talk to her parents for twenty years. Her brother would marry and start a family without either her or Rox there. The thought hit her hard, and she began to sob uncontrollably, wishing she could have hugged her family one last time.

* * *

"Ma!" Kiba called out, digging through the front desk drawer of the Inuzuka Veterinary Clinic and Kennel. "Where's the schedule!?" He looked up for a split second to shoot the waiting customer a friendly smile, only to see her glowering back at him. Mrs. Sekkachi was an older woman whose husband ran a rather successful textile business. Kiba had his suspicions that all was not well with that marriage, because it was well known that the only thing that mattered to her in the world was her Yorkie, Ningyo, whom she held in her arms, petting its neck to avoid messing up her red polka dot bow. "I'm sorry Mrs. Sekkachi. We'll get Ningyo squared away as soon as I find the schedule."

The old broad didn't even dignify him with a response, so he turned back to the desk, searching for it since his mother was clearly too busy to help him this Wednesday afternoon. Usually, his mother, sister and himself worked in tandem running the vet. Hana was both trained as a veterinarian and used to work the front desk regularly when Kiba was in school at the academy. None of them ever took a mission at the same time knowing two people must be running the vet at all times.

He heard the bell ring for the front door and he said, looking up, "I'll be with you in a …"

The vision he was met with standing on the doormat took his breath away. She was beautiful. She had toffee brown hair and caramel eyes that struck him, and made him wonder if it was as soft as it looked. She had a bright, full smile that captivated him. She wore a light blue and white lace top that hugged her curves and presented her breasts perfectly, and cut off just at her waist, exposing her belly button. Her jeans were tight, only coming up to her hips, showing the nice curve of her bottom.

She caught him staring at her, and she smiled brighter, chewing on her bottom lip innocently as she gave him a small wave. Kiba found himself lifting his hand and giving her a small wave back, still staring at her dumbly.

"Ahem," Mrs. Sekkachi huffed loudly, clearing her throat to draw his attention.

"Right," he breathed, dragging his eyes away from the angel who just walked in the door. He went back to searching the desk as Akamaru padded out to the lobby, clearly interested in the new smell that came through the door. Kiba had to admit, he was incredibly interested in it too, but likely for very different reasons. She smelled like coconut and vanilla shampoo.

As soon as Akamaru appeared in the lobby, the girl's face lit up further as she looked at the large dog. "You must be Akamaru!" She crouched down excitedly as she added in a steadily cutesier voice, "I had no idea you're a Great Pyrenees! You're so fluffy!" She twitched her fingers like she wanted to scratch him.

Akamaru grumbled, pulling away from her a little nervously. "Sorry. I'm being rude. You wanna' sniff?" she asked, holding out her hand to him as she knelt down to his level.

That was when Kiba found the schedule, and began to look through it. "Ok, I see we have Ningyo down for a four-night stay with a check-up and grooming. Is that right?" He asked, looking up at Mrs. Sekkachi who gave a resolute nod. He looked behind the older lady to see what his dog was doing.

Akamaru pushed his nose into the girl's hand, sniffing it deeply before giving it a lick, his tail beginning to wag. The girl smiled. "See? I'm not going to hurt you." Her hand moved to scratch his chin, and he gave a contented grumble, stepping closer to her. "You want some scratches?" Akamaru gave an affirmative grunt, shifting closer and knocking the girl on her butt, which made her laugh.

"Alright," he breathed, stepping out of the front desk area into the lobby, reaching for Ningyo. "I'll just take Ningyo back, and you can pay when you pick her up." He took the prissy dog back to her kennel, furnished with a plush dog bed, bowls and chew toy. He gave her a treat for being good, then closed the kennel, making his way back to the lobby.

The sight Kiba walked in on brought a strange smile to his face. The girl sat on the floor, grinning as Akamaru lounged in her lap, belly up as she scratched his chest. He shot Kiba a shit eating grin as his tail thumped against the floor. "You are just a big fluffy puppy! Aren't you!" Suddenly, she scratched a spot that made Akamaru freeze. "Oh?" She kept scratching there as his hind leg began to work, scratching at air. The girl grinned. "I got your git fiddle! I got your git fiddle!"

Kiba could see from Akamaru's expression, he was in heaven. Kiba chose that moment to interrupt. "I see you've made a friend, Akamaru."

She stopped scratching the dog, looking up at Kiba with excited eyes as she said brightly, "Oh, hi!"

Kiba smiled back, her expression completely disarming. "Hi," he breathed dreamily. He shook his head, realizing he was coming off completely unprofessional. "Uh, how can I help you."

"Oh, uhm." She smiled sheepishly at Akamaru. "Sorry, boy, but I need to stand up."

Akamaru immediately flipped, standing up and walking back to his bed behind the desk. The dog was nine, and he didn't move like he used to. Most days, he was lounging behind the vet's front desk on his tempurpedic pillow.

She began to pull herself up, and Kiba reached down. "Let me help you."

She took his hand with a smile. "Thanks," she replied, using his leverage to pull herself up with a bounce he very much appreciated. She caught his gaze as they realized they were still holding each other's hand. She grinned again with a small blush before chewing on her lower lip again.

It took him a minute to find his way out of her eyes, and he let go of her hand, scratching the back of his head. "So, what can I do for you?"

She gave him a determined smile as she said, "I was hoping to get a job."

His eyebrows shot up at that.

"Part time," she added quickly. "As per our living arrangements, we have to go to the academy every morning, but Iruka did convince Kakashi to only needing the half day, since we can't participate in the chakra control stuff."

Kiba's eyes went wide as he realized something. He pointed at her, uttering, "You're one of the girls Hinata was telling me about. The ones from the other world?"

The girl nodded. She stuck her hand out as she added, "My name's Ronnie. Ronnie Buchanan. It's short for Veronica, but everyone calls me Ronnie."

He grabbed her hand, giving it a solid shake. "Kiba."

"I know," she laughed. He gave her a weird look as she added. "You're Kiba Inuzuka. You were on team eight with Shino and Hinata under Kurenai. You have a superhuman sense of smell, and your partner is Akamaru, who I just learned is a Great Pyrenees, since he's not drawn like that in the show."

Kiba's expression shifted a little worriedly as he pulled back his hand.

Her caramel eyes went wide as she added quickly, "Oh, I didn't mean … Did Hinata not mention that where we're from, all of this is a tv show?"

He frowned. "She did not," he replied, because honestly, it sounded ludicrous. But to be perfectly fair, being some sort of comic book or novel seemed the least ludicrous thing about it. Hinata wouldn't lie about girls from an alternate dimension. So, if he could believe that, he could wrap his head around being a character in some show.

"Yeah. I don't want you to think I'm some sort of stalker," Ronnie said quickly, sounding a little nervous. "You were just on the show a lot."

"Oh," he breathed, wondering if he should ask how much he was featured.

"Anyway," Ronnie segued back quickly, "about the job. I was originally training to become a marine biologist, and this is the closest I'll get to that profession here."

Kiba nodded, trying to appear serious as he contemplated her explanation. He didn't know what a marine biologist was, but if he had to guess, she'd meant to become a whale vet, given her statement this was the closest job to that profession. He licked his lips, then asked, "Well, do you have any experience working with animals?"

She nodded quickly, lifting a hand to list off her experience. "I used to volunteer at the local animal shelter for the past four years, and summers I worked reception at the local vet." Kiba nodded, showing he was impressed. That was pretty good experience. "I also grew up on a cow farm with a menagerie of animals. I mean two dogs, three cats, several hamsters, and bunch of cows."

"Kiba! Make a note to order more syringes," his mother called out with a gruff, raspy voice. Tsume Inuzuka appeared in the doorway, her hair wild as always as she took off her blood-stained coat. "We're down to our last pack."

Kiba looked at his mother's coat, and asked, "How'd it go?"

His mother shot him a weird look. "The spay? Normal. Haru's stitches will heal in a week, so she's in a cone until then. I know that might not help her adoption chances yet, but …" she trailed off with a nonchalant shrug. "That Sekkachi lady drop off her little dog?"

"Yup," Kiba answered, a little annoyed. He knew his mother could hear him calling her, asking where the planner was.

His mother's eyes landed on Ronnie, and she got a dangerous glint in her eye as she asked curtly, "And who is this?"

"This is Ronnie Buchanan," Kiba answered. "She was asking for a job."

Tsume's dark eyes gained an appraising glimmer in them as she stepped closer to the girl. "She doesn't smell like she could handle any of the work as a vet."

"If you're talking about chakra, that's because I have none," Ronnie stated, standing up straight as she talked to Tsume now. Kiba's mother raised an eyebrow at this. It wasn't often a person had the balls to stand against her. "Vet work where I'm from is done differently. I'll give you that. But I have several years' experience manning the front desk at a vet, and running an animal shelter. Both of which should provide enough valuable experience to take on a position here."

Tsume frowned eyeing her carefully. "Hmmm," she grunted, clearly weighing the possibilities. The girl had gumption, and she liked that. And she claimed to have good experience. But only time would tell. "If you have the rest of the afternoon, we can do a trial run."

Ronnie beamed and nodded affirmatively.

"Why don't you straighten the front desk, so you can find everything, since Kiba can't organize for shit," Tsume offered.

"Ma!" Kiba yelped as Ronnie went to task.

"Come here, Kiba," Tsume growled, pulling her son aside to the hallway. Kiba did his best to suppress a fearing gulp. Nothing in the world terrified him more than his mother. He hated to say it, because he also loved her, but he understood how she scared his father away. She put her arm up, boxing her son in against the wall. "Kiba," she barked. "I know every man has two brains controlling his thoughts. The big brain," she pointed to his head. She pointed down as she added, "and the small brain."

Kiba blushed at his mother's insinuation. "It's not small," he defended.

His mother smirked as she replied coolly, "It's not smart either." She pulled away, crossing her arms as she glowered at her son. "Look, I could hear you fawning over her from the other room. Had it not been for the fact she claims exceptional experience and got Akamaru rolling over like a puppy, I would not have agreed to give her a chance. But because I did, that means you need to think with your big brain with her and keep your small brain in your pants. Are we understood?"

Kiba gave a small, nervous nod, and his mother smiled. "Good."

Tsume stepped away, adding another order, "Now go show her around the vet and kennel area. And don't take too long. Two o'clock, Mrs. Kedama is coming in with her cat. Apparently, he's having a hairball issue. So, have her back at the front desk by then." With that, his mother disappeared back in the vet lab.

Kiba let out a sigh, turning to head back to the front desk. His eyes fell on her as she emptied out a drawer, completely bent over and her fabulous ass prone. He pursed his lips, doing his best to contain his smile and ignore the call of his small brain, as his mother put it. "Are you looking for something?" he asked.

Ronnie jumped up with a yelp, then a laugh. He smirked back at her. "Come on," he offered, jutting his head towards the kennels. "Ma asked me to show you around real quick."

"Oh," she said breathily with a smile and a bounce. As he pulled his arm off the door jamb, she sashed around him and looped her arm around his, grabbing his bicep if he wasn't mistaken. He took a bracing breath with a smile, feeling her touch burn on his arm. "Lead the way."

* * *

 _Twenty years._ That was Cordi's guess. _Fifteen to twenty years._ Tuesday, Cordi had shown everyone their videos from home that she said some guy installed on her computer that she believed was her son from the future. While that seemed farfetched, the videos were more than enough proof. Fred's heart sank at the thought of being stuck in this world for so long. Maybe her friends were right, trying to seduce their favorite ninjas on the show. Ronnie had told Fred, Rox, and Lynne to tell Temari she was feeling comfortable with her water powers, and would be skipping training in favor of getting a job. Although, Rox added that in all probability, Ronnie was most likely starting her pursuit of Kiba.

Hell, in the videos Cordi showed them, all of them were married. Maybe the videos had given Ronnie the confidence to go after him. Not that she needed any more confidence, but there were some things their mother and brothers said about Ronnie's husband that had the other girls nodding along, saying, "That sounds like it could be Kiba." Although, Cordi did note she had never seen him be super protective like her brothers joked about. Nor did he seem the type to be super strict dad. Or go out dancing with his brothers-in-law, including Fred's husband, whoever that was. But helping out around the farm? A bit of a braggart? Really good at hunting, their brothers' favorite past-time? Those all could be Kiba.

It also made Fred wonder who she ended up married to in these videos. All she knew was that he was laid back, had a child from a previous marriage, and had a strange bromance with Ronnie's husband. She also wondered why she would marry a man who was already a father. She wasn't ashamed to know she had a type, and that type was usually fuckboy, but with a heart of gold. Fathers didn't usually fall in that category either. Fathers in the fuckboy category tended not to be responsible enough to have the heart of gold.

Not to mention, did previous marriage mean divorce or widowed? She hated to think she settled for a somber, still in love with his first wife widower. But at the same time, she also didn't want the drama of raising a child with the first wife still in the picture, calling all the shots.

She shook her head, bringing herself back to the present. Whatever the future entailed, she'd deal with it then. She trusted the head on her shoulders. So, if future her was happy in that situation, then she'd have faith in her decisions.

But she also wasn't going to sit idly by anymore and continue to wait for a portal to swallow them back up into the real world. That wasn't happening. They weren't going back for a long time. And that meant if she wanted to be treated like an adult, and get out of this middle school ninja hell she'd found herself in, she needed to find herself a job. A part of her wished she could just drop out of the Academy. She knew she'd never make it as a ninja. But because her living arrangements were directly tied to it, she'd stay for now. And on the side, save up some money so she could eventually get her own place. Ronnie had the right idea, getting a job while they were still at the Academy. It may have been all for the wrong reasons, but it was the right idea.

That was why she stood in the center of Konoha's new main square, under the lit up giant oak, staring across the way at a bar flooded with light. The Nomu Ki Bar. It was a Wednesday night, but there was still a decent crowd. She'd been a barista back home, and over the span of two years, made shift manager. The pay had been decent. But Konoha didn't have any coffee shops. There was no Starbucks on the corner. No Main Street Grind. No Central Perk.

They had tea shops, but she quickly realized that her experience as a latte artist extraordinaire would be wasted on a tea shop. There were no special ways to serve tea. Just hot water and leaves.

That left the other adult beverage option. Alcohol. She'd never worked in a bar, but she'd been to several with her fake ID back home, and she always enjoyed the atmosphere. She'd seen how bartenders mix drinks. There was art in it. Skill. And most importantly, _no kids._ It wasn't that she hated children. She didn't. She always one day wanted to be a mom. But preteens, like the ones she was stuck with in the Academy, she didn't want to deal with them.

She strolled into the bar, feeling right at home with the lumberjack feel of it. Everything was made from natural wood. The floors, the walls, the tables, the stools. Even the bar was made from a large polished log that had been sawed in half, and still had some of the bark on it. It was lit by strings of glass lightbulb flung back and forth across the ceiling. On the wall on the side of the bar was a chalkboard that listed the evening's drink and food specials.

"How can I help you?" a woman asked behind the bar. She had blond hair, brown eyes, and an expression that said she didn't like people who wasted time. She wore a cutoff tank top that showed off some cleavage, and a skirt with a slit up to her hip, exposing her boy short spandex.

Fred stepped forward earnestly. "I was hoping I could interview for a job." She pulled out a help wanted ad she ripped out of a newspaper after leaving her third tea shop that evening. "It says you're looking for a bartender."

The woman raised a slender eyebrow, looking Fred over carefully. "You ever work in a bar before?"

"I was a barista before this," Fred answered, hoping her background in coffee would translate. The lady just looked at her confused, and Fred remembered that no one here knew what that was. She hurriedly explained, "I worked more with coffee, but still mixing drinks and such. Just for morning people."

"Ah," the woman replied, going back to wiping up a spill on the bar.

"But I'm a quick study," Fred offered, jumping up to the bar. She needed a job. "And a hard worker. I made shift manager in my last place of work in under a year."

The blonde woman straightened up, throwing the cloth she'd been using over her shoulder. Her gaze leveled on Fred's verdant eyes. "Quick study, eh?" Fred nodded fervently. "Ok," the woman huffed, pulling out two glass cups with handles and a metal mixer. "I'm going to make our bar's most popular drink. Then I'm going to see you do it." She pulled some bottles of liquor up in a flashy manner. "I'm only going to explain this once, Shochu first," she held up the bottle, pouring it in the mixer. "Club soda," she held that up as well, then poured it in. "Then Lemon juice." She closed the mixer as she said, "They each need to be even." She then shook it hard for five seconds. She grabbed a scooper below, scooping up ice from a chest behind the bar and dumped it in the glass. Then she took the mixer and poured it in the glass, and dropped a pre-cut lemon into it. "Shouldn't take longer than two minutes, but if you're good it'll be ready in one."

The woman moved the empty glass over to Fred, as well as the mixer and liquor. "You're turn." Fred nodded, grabbing the mixer and the bottle labeled Shochu first, pouring it in carefully as the blonde woman passed the first drink to a man sitting at the bar who looked generally sullen until the new drink came into view. The blonde smiled at him, and said, "On the house." He smiled, and drank it happily as Fred moved onto the Club soda, just as carefully. Then the Lemon juice. She grabbed the mixer's top, closing it and shaking the drink as hard as she could, counting to five as she did. She held out the glass cup. "Ice?" The blonde scooped it in, and then Fred poured the mixer's contents into the glass. She held her hand out again, asking, "Lemon." The blonde passed her one, and Fred dropped it in the glass, then passed it back to the blonde.

The blonde made a face, looking at her watch. "A minute forty. Not bad. But how does it taste?" She grabbed the glass by its handle and took a sip, then pursed her lips, giving a pleasantly surprised expression. "Not bad. Not bad at all." She set the glass down as she smirked at Fred. "What's your name?"

"Fred. Winnifred Buchanan, but you can call me Fred," she answered quickly.

The blonde smirked. "Well, Fred, you've got yourself a position, starting tomorrow. It's Thursday, so it's going to be busy. I'll need you here by one to learn how to make the drinks." She pointed to herself as she finished, "My name is Yuri Katakake, and I own the Nomu Ki Bar, also known as The Drinking Tree. So, welcome on board."

Fred positively beamed at the petit blonde. "Thank you!" she cheered. "Thank you! Thank you so much!"

Yuri nodded, going back to work. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Fred turned to leave, waving another time. "Thank you!" she said again with a final wave.

"Oh, and Fred!" Yuri called out. Fred turned around quickly. Yuri was frowning at her outfit as she said, "Wear something black that shows off the ladies," she gestured to her chest as she said it. "You'll get more tips."

Fred blushed, but nodded as she left.

* * *

It was Thursday afternoon, and both Fred and Ronnie had skipped out of training with Temari, stating they both had gotten jobs. Fred at least promised to be back on Friday, while Ronnie made no such promise. But when the rest of the group saw her, Ronnie assured them she'd been keeping up with her hand practices, and felt she pretty much had her powers mastered.

Cordi had already left with Temari to meet back up with the other Sand Siblings for dinner, which left Lynne and Rox walking home, just them two. Lynne had been coming along practicing her bending spoons trick, now able to hold them up with only telekinesis. She was pretty excited about that. Rox's powers had also been coming along, and she was thankful Temari was such a skilled wind user to teach her some of her tricks. Now Rox could perform Temari's wind scythe jutsu without chakra or a giant fan, which she thought was pretty cool.

"I dunno'," Lynne sighed, holding her hands behind her head as they walked. "I'm still not certain those videos Cordi showed us are legit, y'know?"

Rox shrugged. "They seemed real. All of our houses were laid out correctly, and they looked exactly like our parents."

"Yeah, but time travel?" Lynne asked. "When in the history of Naruto has anyone time traveled?"

Rox frowned. "When in the history of Naruto has anyone jumped dimensions?" she countered. Lynne just scowled. Rox let out a sigh as she added, "I know. It's upsetting to think we won't see any of our family again for twenty years. But at least we know we will see them again."

Lynne shook her head, "No we don't. Any sci-fi reader knows time-travel is an incredibly complicated nuisance. Just seeing those videos might mean we never see them again. Or that we won't even get married. Or have children."

Rox shot the redhead a perturbed look as she replied, "Well, I doubt that. Otherwise, the guy claiming to be Cordi's son definitely wouldn't have left it."

Lynne was silent for a long moment, then asked, "Are you willing to test that theory?" Rox frowned, and Lynne just jutted her chin towards a street vendor at the end of the block. Rox's heart seized as she saw Shikamaru standing there, pensively looking at the vendor's wares. "If everything in the videos is going to happen, go pinch your husband's butt."

Rox blushed. "We don't know he's my husband."

"Your mother said he's laidback, and your dad said he was a ringer at chess," Lynne listed off, ticking the items with her fingers as she shot her friend a knowing look. "If that doesn't describe Shikamaru Nara, I don't know what does."

"Yeah, but—" Rox tried.

"No buts," Lynne laughed. "Remember Art History, senior year."

Rox frowned. "That's low."

Lynne shrugged. "You promised."

Rox chewed the inside of her cheek, shooting a look at the unsuspecting ninja. Lynne was right. She had promised. Back when they were in Art History class together in their senior year, Rox had completely forgotten about a major test, having spent most of the weekend working on a project for her French class. Rox begged her to use their free period in running through the study guide with her instead of doing what she had been planning on doing, working on her college admissions essays. Lynne agreed on the condition that Rox owed her five big favors or dares at any point she declared. Five because that was how many essays she needed to write. So far, Lynne had only used two. The first had been to pick her and Fred up at a party where they'd been drinking. The second had been to be her wingman when she was trying online dating for the first time. Essentially, sit several tables over, and call if things started to get weird, then drive her home. The man in question turned out to not look like his picture, and was a lot stranger than he let on originally. Lynne was usually pretty tolerant when it came to weird people, but once he started talking about his really attractive cousin, who she reminded him of, she decided it was time to get out of there.

"Is there an alternative?" Rox asked.

"No," Lynne smirked. Rox blushed, looking at the man in question. Lynne added in a laugh, "Well, yes. If you don't do it, I'm going to sneak over to his house tonight and carve 'Rox loves Shikamaru,' in his front door with my new telekinesis powers."

Rox shot her friend a rueful look as she breathed, "You are evil."

Lynne smiled wistfully as she looked at the sky. "I know." Lynne took the first steps toward the unsuspecting Nara, with Rox following closely behind. Lynne stopped once she'd gone a couple yards past him as Rox paused behind him. He bent over a little to get a better look at the vendor's wares, and Lynne smirked as Rox blushed. "Go on," she mouthed, gesturing to his ass.

Rox knew she was blushing furiously. She could practically feel the blood boiling in her face. She chanced a glance at his bottom and noted its pleasant curve. She closed her eyes, bracing herself as she chanted in her head, _Pinch and run. Pinch and run._

She let out a small, quiet huff before reaching down and giving his butt a firm pinch that caused him to jump with a yelp, "WHAT THE-!?"

Now she was running, trying to catch up to Lynne who had already begun to hightail it out of there, cackling away. But just before she could catch up to her friend and tell her how much she sucked as a human being, Rox's body froze. Her heart pounded as she felt herself being forced to turn around, and realized she was stuck in Shikamaru's shadow possession. She chanced a look up at his expression, fear radiating through her. His expression was dumbfounded lividity, but his light brown eyes held a bewildered curiosity.

He walked up to her, forcing her to walk up to him as he still held her fast in his shadow possession. "Did you just pinch my butt in public?" he asked.

"I'm sorry," Rox said quickly, cursing herself for feeling her eyes welling up. Of course he was angry. She would be too if some stranger did that to her on the street. And now she was blushing like mad, and crying. The excuse came tumbling out in a torrent. "It was a dare. My friend is a horrible person. It was that or something even more completely insane. I'm sorry."

He frowned, crossing his arms, so she too had to cross her arms as she cried. "Is this the friend that was inquisitioning me about Kiba?" he asked.

"No. That was Ronnie," Rox answered quickly. "This was Lynne."

He raised an eyebrow at that. He let out an annoyed sigh as he asked, "Are all your friends so meddlesome?"

"Not usually, no," Rox replied. "Lynne was just being particularly evil today."

"Uh-huh," Shikamaru grunted. He released the shadow possession as he looked Roxanne over. She looked positively mortified, so he knew it wasn't her idea. But it did beg the question, "Why did she dare you to pinch me?"

Rox pursed her lips as she looked away, her blush increasing to the point Shikamaru worried she might pop. He recalled her telling him the other day that he was her favorite character from those comics. Was it possible that she liked him? And that was the cause of her friends' meddling?

He'd never admit to being good at relationships. Most of the time, he felt the woman's mind was a place no man ever dare venture. Especially when it came to relationships. Women tended to twist things in their heads, even more so than he did, when it came to relationships. When he and Temari finally got together, she admitted that she'd been waiting on him for a while, stating that she could tell he had feelings for her, but was waiting until he manned up to ask her out properly. He didn't know why he hadn't. He, too, had liked her. She was smart and bossy, and he kind of liked that. Maybe it was that he was worried that getting into a relationship with her would expose the fact he wasn't good at relationships. In all truth, he'd only had the one girlfriend.

And his friends were no help in that area. He was the first one to start dating among his friends. Seriously, at least. Kiba had started banging anything that moved after the fourth ninja war. Something about needing to sow wild oats before he couldn't anymore. But none of those were serious relationships. The longest he'd date a girl was a week, then he'd move onto someone else. Kiba always told Shikamaru to have some fun before getting serious. Maybe Kiba was right. He should pursue a relationship for fun, without a goal in the end.

Roxanne wasn't like Temari. Temari, like his mother, had the personality of a bull in a china shop. The sand kunoichi was as subtle as a brick to the face.

Although, she was like her in one aspect. Roxanne was bold. He'd give her that. Even Temari wouldn't have pinched his butt in broad daylight, in the middle of town square.

He found himself smirking and saying, "You know, usually I have a girl buy me dinner first," before he even really thought about it.

"I can buy you dinner," she offered quickly.

His eyebrow shot up at that, seeing her blush even more furiously. Yes, she was definitely bold. Temari had waited five years for him to ask her on a date. Roxanne just asked him out after knowing him officially a week. She was making this easy for him. And after Temari, he needed something easy. Something that wouldn't be a constant fight. While he'd enjoyed the making up after, sometimes he wished he had a woman who didn't mind just cloud gazing with him. Someone who could be calm and easy.

He smiled as he asked, "Where are we eating?"

She blushed as she replied, "Well, I owe _you_ the dinner. So, you should pick." He raised an eyebrow at that. She did have a point.

He pointed across the square, asking, "Are you up for barbeque?"

Rox's smile reached all the way to her eyes. "I'd love it."

So, they walked over to the barbeque restaurant, got a table, and Shikamaru got to know more about Rox. He learned she had an older brother, Travis, and that the girl staying with Temari and her brothers in Suna was Rox's little sister, Cordi. He learned she'd been an artist, getting a degree in her world in graphic design and fine art. She'd gotten a scholarship for school for excellent grades, as well as her portfolio of paintings and sketches focusing on clouds and weather patterns. She had a fascination with storms, which was what inspired the portfolio, and she promised to show him the pictures she had of her pieces stored on her laptop. She wasn't good at strategy games, but she was really good at puzzles. And the most memorable punishment her parents gave her was to write a book report after she chucked the book at her brother's head after one of his pranks.

It wasn't that she hated reading. She loved to read. But the book in question was her father's copy of **Anna Karenina** , which apparently was one of those nineteenth century Russian books, which she assured him were famous for being long and depressing, bemoaning the woes of Imperial Russian court. He didn't understand half of that description, but from what she told him, he agreed that it sounded dreadfully dull.

Afterwards, he walked her back to her apartment, since it was on the way to his house anyway. They joked and laughed the whole walk back, and he had to admit, it was the first time he'd felt so at ease in conversation since the break-up.

"Well," she murmured, pausing at the staircase of the ninja dorms. She and her friends were on the second floor. "This is my stop."

"Yeah," he breathed, looking at the building. He realized he'd been having so much fun just talking to her, he wished they could just keep the conversation going. But it was late. The sun had set a long time ago. They stayed an hour after paying at the restaurant, which he knew annoyed the wait staff. And the walk home took at least another forty-five minutes. "We should do this again," he said.

Roxanne looked up at him hopefully. "You mean, like a second date?"

A small, surprised smile came to his face as he found himself replying, "Yeah. A second date." He definitely liked her enough to warrant calling this a date. She was pretty in an innocent sort of way that he liked. She was reserved and kind. And when she mentioned her paintings, he caught a vision of them cloud gazing, her sketching them as they watched the clouds move across the sky. It was the first time he'd glimpsed a future he wanted, and Temari wasn't in it. He was surprised how much he wanted that moment now.

She positively beamed at him, her smile lighting up her whole face. "I'd like that."

He wasn't sure what made him do it, probably habit after a year of dating Temari, who expected a kiss on the cheek after every date. He leaned in to give her a kiss on the cheek, but she turned just as he did, and his lips met hers. It was only briefly, but her lips tasted sweet. His heart fluttered and his cheeks flushed as he realized his mistake. He straightened himself up, scratching the back of his head nervously as he cleared his throat.

Rox though, feeling confident now, stepped forward, using his shoulder to balance herself on her tippy toes so she could reach his lips for another kiss. His hand found its way to her neck, supporting her as she licked his lips for entrance, and he let her in. He felt a zing go straight to his navel as her tongue slid against his. The pressure she created when she pushed against him was exquisite, and he pulled her body close. It had been so long for him.

She smiled as she pulled away, her breath puffing against his lips as his eyes fluttered open to meet her reddish-brown eyes. "Goodnight, Shikamaru," she breathed, pulling herself away.

She'd started to make her way up the stairs when he finally called back, "Goodnight …" She was out of sight by the time he whispered, "Roxanne."

* * *

Gaara woke with a start, his breathing heavy as he tried to file away the dream in the deep recesses of his brain. He wasn't sure why, but he still had nightmares when he slept. It wasn't all the time. It wasn't even most of the time. But it was enough. He'd heard that most people grew out of nightmares. Not him, apparently.

He needed a glass of water to calm himself down, catch his breath. He walked out to the kitchenette, carefully opening one of the cabinets for a glass before running it under the faucet. As he looked up, taking a sip of the water, he saw a flame flickering above the couch, and he frowned.

"Is that Kankuro, or Gaara?" a voice asked in a whisper. It startled him a little, since the room was mostly dark, but the flickering flame. Gaara remained quiet as he swallowed the water, although he knew it was Cordi. He cursed himself, realizing he'd forgotten she was there. She'd been living with them for a little over a week now, but Gaara hadn't really done anything with her after the incident with the time traveling sand boy who claimed to be her son and her family videos. She'd cried so hard that night after watching the wholesome videos, he worried the littlest thing might cause her to burst into tears. And he wasn't good with crying women. So, he'd been avoiding her as best as he could.

The flame moved, then grew, lighting up the room, enough to see that she'd lit a candle, which sat on the coffee table. Next to the candlestick was a blue opened package. Now, he could see her straight, dirty-blonde hair hung down over her shoulders like a curtain, and the flame flicked in its reflection in her dark brown eyes. Its glow on her skin made Gaara realize that similar to how Hakuto, the woman the Suna council had attempted to arrange a marriage with him earlier this year, had seemingly embodied wind, Cordi embodied fire. Not a raging fire, that destroyed cities with its roar, but the comforting crackle of a hearth.

"It's Gaara," he answered, even though he knew she could see him. She gave him a look that said, "Yes, I can see that." He did his best to suppress the blush coming to his cheeks as he realized he wasn't properly dressed for a conversation. He wore a basic t-shirt and his underwear. Nothing else. It was a lot hotter in Konoha at night. And not the dry heat he was used to in the desert. It was a muggy, humid heat that clung to every pore, and dripped on the skin.

When neither of them said anything for a minute, she reached into the package then held up a dark black circular thing, asking, "Do you want an Oreo?" He frowned at the offer. _What is an oreo?_ Almost as if she read his mind, she bit into the one she held up, stating, "It's a chocolate and cream cookie sandwich. My family would always get them when we'd go to Maine for vacation, which was where we were headed before we got lost, so I bought a couple packs before we left home." She pursed her lips before finishing the cookie. "Now they're just going to go to waste."

She was offering him a midnight snack? He stepped forward, looking at the package. He could see between the dark circles was a cream filled center. She smirked, and reached in again, then held one out to him. He blinked at how casual she was in the action, but he took the cookie anyway, taking a bite. The cookie was hard, but it was sweet. The chocolate hit his tongue, and it wasn't bitter like some of the chocolate Temari ate. It was … pleasant.

"Why are you awake?" he found himself asking. She did just give him a cookie. Better to be friendly. And it was rather early in the morning. Temari wasn't even close to waking, and she always woke up the earliest, except for himself.

She shrugged. "I had an anxiety dream," she answered, grabbing another cookie. "I was at my college dorm. It was the first day of classes, and I was just about to go to my first class, and I got stuck in the elevator when the chord snapped, and it plummeted five stories." He frowned. She smirked as she added, "I woke up from that, then tried to go back to sleep, and the dream continued with me knowing I was late to class. I looked and looked and looked for where my class was supposed to be, and when I finally found it, I'd missed the whole semester, and it was time for the final exam." She shrugged as she finished, "I woke up again, and figured my time would be better spent honing my … whatever it is."

He quirked his head at that. _Whatever what is?_ She let out a sigh as she added, "Remember that night I set the kitchen on fire?"

He nodded. It was difficult to forget his sister blasting him with extinguishing foam.

She gave an odd smile, then held out her thumb. The tip of her thumb then lit up with a flickering flame, and she slowly flicked each of her fingers, each with their own flickering flame, until her five fingers were each lit. Then she closed her hand and opened it with a fireball appearing. She noted his awed expression, and smirked as she closed her hand and the fire disappeared. "We found out we had some powers."

He gave a vague nod. "I've never seen fire chakra work without hand signals," he stated with a frown.

"That's because it's not chakra," she replied. He gave her a weird look, and she added, "Temari's been helping me with it. Learning how to control it, as well as try and teach some jutsus. When we couldn't even manage some basic jutsus, like the shunshin thing, she had Hinata double check our lacking chakra networks."

That gave Gaara pause as he looked at her hand. He remembered Hinata stating they didn't have chakra networks, but now they had some power. So how did it work? "No chakra?"

Cordi shook her head. "None."

 _That is odd._ "I wasn't aware that there was anybody who could do jutsus but not use chakra," he stated a little incredulously.

Cordi gave a shrug. "Maybe for people in this world. But we aren't from this world." She let out a sigh, grabbing another cookie. She snagged a second one and offered it to him, and he accepted it. "So," she drawled, flipping her cookie between her fingers, "I noticed your gourd has significantly changed sizes. What happened?" She eyed him carefully, then smirked, "Tweaked your back, didn't you?"

Gaara frowned at her worriedly. Not many people knew about him throwing his back out almost two years ago. Pretty much just his doctor, him, and his siblings who helped him recover, since he had a procedure and then was bedridden for two weeks. His doctor took an x-ray of his back when he noted Gaara was only eighteen at the time, then laughed when he looked at it and said, "Well, there's your problem right there. You're only eighteen, but you've put so much stress on your back, your spine looks like it's sixty." He then proscribed a procedure that would restore the discs and ligaments in his back that had worn down so seriously, but he had to stay in bed the whole time as the procedure did its work. The doctor also demanded he switch to a smaller gourd of sand, because if he didn't, he would end up paralyzed in a few years. The doctor also noted carrying around that much sand was completely unnecessary. Suna was in the desert, where sand was readily available.

When Gaara stayed awkwardly quiet, Cordi let out a loud laugh she immediately tried to stifle by covering her mouth, only to let out a chortle. "You threw out your back!"

"The strap kept breaking," Gaara tried to lie, although it wasn't really a lie. The strap on the old gourd broke so frequently, he'd easily spent a couple thousand on it for repairs over the years.

Cordi shook her head, still laughing. "No, you threw out your back. I could see it on your face as soon as I asked."

Gaara frowned. "No one was supposed to know," he muttered. He didn't need anyone looking for a weakness on him to know about his back. He looked at her carefully, and asked, "How did you guess?"

Cordi smirked. "I've been a size double D since I was twelve, while all of my friends are A's and B's." He shot her a weird look, not understanding what she was talking about. She rolled her eyes, pulling the strap of her tank top aside to expose her bra-strap, which she tugged on, jiggling her breasts. Gaara blushed as she continued nonchalantly, "Do you know how many times my friends, to feel better about themselves, have told me I'll need a breast reduction, because otherwise I'll throw my back out when I'm thirty?" She finally looked at him, seeing his face go crimson. "I'm sorry," she laughed. "That was really crass." She smirked as she jabbed at him, "Clearly, you have more delicate sensibilities."

He pouted at that. "I do not have delicate sensibilities," he defended. His expression made Cordi smile, which she tried to hide by steepling her hands in front of her lips. "What?"

"That was just the cutest pout I've ever seen," she gushed. Her voice got more baby-fied as she added, "Oh, it just makes me want to pinch those little cheeks." She reached out as if she actually would, but his sand caught her wrist as he leaned away. She rolled her eyes, dropping the cutesy voice as she laughed, "I'm just teasing. You can let go. I'm not going to pinch your cheeks." He looked unconvinced, and she frowned, "I promise."

Only then did he let her go, realizing how strange she was. Most people when caught by his sand would be terrified, not laughing. She let out another laugh as she resettled on the couch, and he became more fully aware of her. She was wearing short shorts that ended at the cusp of her ass, exposing her long, toned legs. She had an attractive figure. And she was just as exposed, if not more so than he was. He wondered if Matsuri knew about this, would she have a problem with it.

"But that pout," she laughed, "Whew." She got up, muttering, "I need some water," as she padded into the kitchenette, grabbing a glass and filling it. She took a sip, then added, "My sister would pout like that. She could get away with murder, I swear." She padded back to the couch, and he frowned as he watched her, listened to her closely. This was unsolicited information, but he was willing to learn everything he could about this strange girl who was now living with them. "When we were kids, she could do anything without getting in trouble. Just flew right under the radar. One time, she kicked me out of the bed we shared. I was five or six. Anyway, she kicked me off the bed and I landed on her solid wooden dollhouse, which hurt like hell. So I responded by throwing a Barbie at her. She dodged it by jumping in the closet, then POW! Nailed me in the forehead with a high heel shoe. Then, I got in trouble for: first, instigating the fight, which honestly who kicked who out of bed? And second, tattling on my sister." She let out a bitter laugh.

"You sound like you hold a grudge," Gaara commented blandly. But it was good insight into Cordelia Turner. Her sister, Roxanne, was the angel, while Cordelia was probably the black sheep. She also spun these tales so animatedly that it held his attention.

"Eh," Cordi shrugged. "Travis and I got her back." Gaara raised a hairless eyebrow at that, and Cordi smiled. "We played this prank on her. Travis had just turned eighteen, so I would have been fourteen, and Rox was fifteen. Anyway, so we played this prank that played kind of heavily on her biggest fear, which is vomit. And she reacted to it by grabbing the closest book she could find, and chucking it at Travis's head. The book in question was **Anna Karenina** by Tolstoy, which is widely known where I'm from as one of the longest, most boring and depressing books ever written. My mom, genius at punishment she is, made her read the whole book and write a five-page book report on it, which my Mom then graded and shredded." Cordi smirked. "A week of her summer vacation wasted."

"Are pranks commonly practiced in your home?" he asked, sipping his water.

"Yes, mostly just between Travis and I, but Rox would join in occasionally," she replied, although she began to frown at him, her eyes narrowing suspiciously. "I feel like you're pumping me for information."

He shrugged, replying, "The first night you came, you proved you knew essentially everything about my siblings and myself. I think it's only fair if I learn about you."

Cordi shrugged, "I wouldn't say everything." She chuckled as she held her fingers up close together. "Just like 80 to 90 percent. You know, the important stuff."

"Then I should know 80 to 90 percent about you," he replied as if the logic was simple.

She pursed her lips, then shrugged. "What do you want to know?"

He frowned nonchalantly waving his hand. "You tell me. What were your aspirations? What was your family like? What are your hobbies?"

She pursed her lips. "If I go into my whole life story, we'll be here forever."

He shrugged. "I have time."

"Fine," she sighed, "I'm the youngest of three children. Travis is the oldest, my brother. He's about Kankuro's age. Month older maybe. Then my sister Rox, who you've met. She was the navigator of our group." Gaara nodded, remembering meeting the rest of her friends when they arrived. The girl with the long black hair if he wasn't mistaken. "My Dad, Ned, and my mom, Lori, have been married for …" she counted out on her fingers, then said, "almost thirty years."

"Your parents must love each other," Gaara commented.

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah. Too much." Gaara quirked his head, and she laughed. "One night a few years ago, Rox and I were doing our homework in the living room, and my parents started kissing with us in plain view. And I mean making out. Which, as you know, is horrifying," she laughed, gesturing to him. Gaara looked at her skeptically, unsure what the difference between kissing and making out was, as she continued, "So, we yell at them to get a room. And then, in what can only be described as psychological warfare or domination over my sister and I, my mom pulled away, then grabbed my dad and _**licked his face**_. Like whole side," she gestured from her jaw to her temple, so he got a visual. She started laughing a little hysterically as if she was reliving it a little, "And my dad was just deadpan. Like, 'This is normal Lori behavior.' Then Mom looked us dead in the eye and told us, 'I own this house, so I will kiss my husband where I like in it.'" Gaara stared at her wide eyed as she laughed. "You know how there are some horrifying images that can't be unseen? Yeah, seeing your parents like that is one of them."

Gaara pursed his lips at that, feeling a blush starting in his cheeks. He momentarily wondered if his parents were in love like that. It was difficult to imagine his mother randomly kissing his father in front of him and his siblings. His father was always rather prudish, so he couldn't imagine it at all.

Cordi chuckled seeing his uncomfortable expression. "Sorry. That story was probably TMI. You'll learn that I have no filter." She made a slightly ashamed face, but not really sorry about it. Then she smiled. "Kinda' like Naruto, you know? I think it, I say it. And to be honest, any type of humiliation I could have over that situation pales in comparison to the time my grandfather went in great detail about having sex with my grandmother to my church youth group with my sister, brother, and I present."

Gaara was staring at her wide-eyed at that, in wonder at her mental fortitude to laugh about something like that. "Why?" he found himself asking.

"Huh?" she asked, surprised by his question. "Oh, my grandpa used to be a sex ed teacher, and a couple weeks before, several of the teens in my youth group went on a church sponsored camping trip that got out of hand, and two girls came back pregnant." She explained it so nonchalantly. "Oh," she laughed, "you probably don't have churches here, so you probably don't get the irony of parents sending their kids off to a church event that somehow turned into an orgy."

He frowned. "Is there a connection?"

She laughed. "Yeah. It's a place of religion. So imagine some pious priests offer to take a group of fourteen and fifteen-year-olds on a spiritual journey, which the teenagers then turn into a sex-fest."

He paused to think about that, closing his eyes and letting out a steady sigh as the irony resonated.

She shrugged, "Anyway, after grandpa, it takes a lot for me to get embarrassed." He nodded, taking note of that. She sighed, running her hand through her hair as she said, "What else? Oh, I had platinum blonde hair as a kid. It's steadily been getting darker over the years, though."

"How blonde?" he asked, eying her hair curiously, thankful she wasn't talking about sex anymore.

She twisted her hair in her fingers as she answered, "Like white. Like Kakashi's hair wasn't as white as mine was. Although I'm not sure what color it would be at now, since I've been getting my hair highlighted since I was eleven. But if I had to guess, it might be a mousey brown." She took another deep breath before plunging back in. "OH! My mom also has a twin brother, but she is the youngest of eight siblings, so I'm from a HUGE family."

He raised his hairless eyebrows at that, his eyes going a little wide. Arranged marriages were still so commonplace in Suna, it was strange to hear about a family getting so large. "Your grandparents must really love each other," he said, clearing his throat.

She smiled forcefully. "Yes. We've established that."

He blushed, realizing she was referencing the grandfather from before.

"Hmm," she hummed, ignoring his reddening face as she tapped a finger to her lips. "My mom is super protective. We sometimes call her mama T-Rex, because if anyone messed with us, she would legitimately eat them alive." Gaara was now again wide-eyed, and Cordi waved off his worry as she added, "Metaphorically speaking, of course. It came in handy a couple times, like when my brother's math teacher fucked up his college recommendations. Or when my sister decked a guy for snapping her bra. And when I was being bullied at school."

She pursed her lips, looking off in the distance, and Gaara could see she was mentally picking at an old wound, wondering if she should open it up for him.

She pinched the tip of her nose, and he realized she was going to tell him as she started, "My first several years of school were really difficult. I was ostracized by everyone in my class. They believed I was a witch or some demon spawn, and wanted nothing to do with me. Didn't matter that none of it was true, and stupid to believe to begin with. It didn't matter that …" She stopped, blinking hard and shaking her head. "I had some teachers who promoted the ostracizing in class. So my mom constantly fought for me. Against my teachers, against the heads of school. Hell, against the freaking board of education."

She let out a sigh as she ran a hand through her hair, shooting him a somber expression as she said, "That whole experience was why I identified with you as a character." Her dark eyes connected with his, and she could tell she had his full attention. "When you showed up on the show, I recognized the isolation, the rage in you. Even more than with Naruto, because he always had that goal and dream to keep him going. But I lost mine when I was six, because I realized there was a good possibility it would be unattainable for me."

He frowned. "Why?"

She gave a pained smirk, and said, "Because people needed to like me to achieve it. And that wasn't happening." She shook her head, and continued, "I met Ronnie when I was nine. She was the first friend I ever made, and the best friend I'll ever have." She smiled as she thought about it. "She was new to the school, and originally very stand-offish, but we became friends. And then our sisters became best friends, so we would always hang out the four of us when we could. Things were still really bad with my other classmates, but Ronnie always made things easier. But I don't think my schoolmates ever accepted me until Rox got me in a talent show to sing, and I got a standing ovation."

"You sing?" he asked.

She shot him a weird look. "After all that, that's what you got?" she scoffed. He only frowned in response, and she sighed. "Yes, I've been singing since I was four, and my sister and I were classically trained for years. My parents made sure we also knew how to ballroom dance, knew proper etiquette in case we ever met someone important, as well as be on as many extra-curricular sports teams as possible." She sighed as she said, "I was originally going to go into law, the same as my Mom, but now that's not going to happen."

"I'm sorry," Gaara replied, looking at the floor for a minute.

She scoffed. "I'm not." He frowned at that. She pursed her lips before adding. "I don't know. Law was what my career aptitude tests all told me to pursue, because again I'm really good at debate and finding loopholes. But I'm not sure I have the patience for the bureaucratic bullshit. Honestly I've never had my heart set on any particular career."

Gaara frowned. That statement seemed to beg a question. "What _did_ you have your heart set on?"

She made a face, and he thought he saw a small blush come to her cheeks. "That unattainable dream I talked about? If I told you," she said, chewing on the inside of her cheek, "I think I'd have to kill you."

Gaara's expression remained absolutely stoic as he asked, "Is that a threat?"

"No," she scoffed, rolling her eyes. "It's just a phrase. What I mean is that I've never told anybody the answer to that question. Not even my friends or family, because it's important to me and I don't want to be judged. So, if I told you, that means I would trust you with a secret more than anyone in the whole world. Trust you not to judge me. Trust you not to share it with anybody."

"You mean like I am trusting you not to share my magnetic release kekkei genkai, which could spell problems for any fight I'm in if it becomes public knowledge?" Gaara offered.

Cordi frowned. "That's a secret?"

Gaara nodded.

Cordi chewed on the inside of her cheek as he looked at her expectantly. It was clear she knew a lot of his vital secrets. His cyan gaze penetrated hers, and she sighed. "Fine, but this doesn't go past us," she gestured between him and her, and he nodded. "I'm serious. Even if my friends ask." Again, he nodded. She narrowed her gaze on him, and shoved out her hand with her pinky extended. "Pinky swear?"

He made a strange face, taken aback by the request. "What?"

"You've never made a pinky promise?" Cordi asked, her pinky still offered.

A small bewildered smile crept to his face as he said, "No one's ever asked me to pinky swear on anything."

"First time for everything," she said with a smirk. "It may be childish, but it's ironclad." He raised an eyebrow at that. It most definitely wasn't ironclad, but if it was what he needed to do to gain her trust … He held out his fist, his pinky extended, and she wrapped hers around his. It was warm, and their skin tingled where it met. She let out a small huff, her pink still wrapped around his as she closed her eyes, as if bracing herself. "Mother of four. I want to be a mom, more than anything."

She shot him a wincing look only to see he was looking at her with bizarre surprise and confusion. She dropped his pinky and pointed at him with a glare and said, "This is why I didn't want to say it. You're judging me." He shook his head, but she was already going off, "I know ever since women got more agency over their bodies and were able to join the workforce more, and take on more powerful positions in society, it's become a sin to admit that instead of wanting to live up to my mental potential and ruling a country, which according to my career aptitude tests is where my mind would be best applied, all I want to do is raise some kids to be productive members of society. But _that_ _ **is**_ all I want." Gaara was doing his best to hold back a smile and she scowled. "Now, you probably think I'm some basic bitch without a brain who wants to become a 'breeder,' as the super feminists would call me, and was only going to college to get my MRS degree, which I wasn't. Truth be told, I could care less if I get married. I'm honestly assuming I won't be, because my dating track record is shit."

"That wasn't what I was thinking," he said. She shot him a disbelieving scowl. He smiled as he said, "Actually, I'm relieved it's something so normal. You led up to it as if it was something like joining the circus." She didn't dignify it with a response as he added, "And while the terms 'basic bitch' and 'MRS degree' elude me, I do not think of you as someone lacking a brain."

Cordi rolled her eyes. "A basic bitch is a woman who is shallow with no sense of originality and generally dimwitted. An MRS degree is when a woman goes to college to find a man to marry rather than getting an actual degree for her career."

Gaara nodded appreciatively. "Then you are definitely not that, from what I've seen." He shifted in his seat as he added, "And I have great respect for mothers. It's a difficult job." He looked her over and asked, "Why do you assume you wouldn't be married?"

"Hm?" she asked.

"You said you assume that you won't get married. Why?"

She rolled her eyes, then held up a hand to tick off reasons, "Bullied as a kid, so I'm socially awkward. I have a domineering and, sometimes, annoying personality, which isn't attractive, but I can't change it either. I'm smart, as previously stated, which guys also don't tend to like, especially if the woman in question is smarter than they are. I'm not nearly as hot as my friends, who again are all petit and skinny, whereas I'm tall for a woman and wear a size eight rather than a zero. And lastly, the only guy who's ever showed any remote interest in me dated me for a couple months, and then cheated on me." She looked at him with pursed lips, and noted the generally sympathetic expression. She scoffed as she finished, "So, yeah, not really inspiring much confidence in that area."

Gaara chewed on his cheek as he watched her. She reminded him of himself for a minute. After the Council announced his pending betrothal to Hakuto, he started looking at himself in such an appraising manner. Wondering if the woman he was set to marry would say "No" for the reasons he deemed lacking. His lack of dating experience was obvious. His social skills needed work. He was emotionally unavailable. Would his murderous past bite him in the ass in this regard, as it frequently did?

He licked his lips as he said, "Well, surely someone will see something in you." She gave him a curious frown as he said, "The video and letter your time traveling son left said you eventually married and had him."

She gave a small nod, realizing she forgot about that. "I guess you're right," she breathed. Her gaze caught his, and there was something in the moment that caught her breath. Some glimmer in his eyes that made her pause and think. Kankuro had said her son had sand powers, and was from Suna. That couldn't be that common of an ability. Was Gaara it? Was he her future husband? Her heart pounded at the thought. Surely something in him was sensing that too.

She opened her mouth to make a flirting joke about her son being Gaara's as well, just to relieve the tension she felt building, but stopped. Gaara was with Matsuri. Cordi's morals would not let her be the other woman. And even though she knew that relationship was headed south anyway, given what Lynne had told her, Gaara didn't. She couldn't be the one to tell him. Instead, she cleared her throat awkwardly, and said, "Maybe I should be headed back to bed."

"Yes," Gaara replied, and if she wasn't mistaken, she saw relief flash across his eyes. She grabbed the oreo pack, putting it away in one of the cupboards then walked back to hers and Temari's room. Gaara was standing now at his own door, looking at her awkwardly as if trying to puzzle something together before he said, "Thank you … for telling me about yourself."

She chewed on the inside of her cheek, her hand on her doorknob as she said with a shrug, "You'd have found out most of that after a while, anyway."

"Still," Gaara chirped, then grumbled a small, "Sleep well," before diving back into his and Kankuro's room.

She couldn't help the smile that crept to her face as she opened her bedroom door. She was fast asleep as her head hit the pillow, dreaming of her and Gaara watching their son play in the park.

* * *

On Thursday, July 2nd, most of the town was shut down, preparing for the festival the next evening. This meant the school was closed as well, meaning Fred, Rox, Lynne, and Ronnie all got the morning off. Temari was tasked with Kankuro to oversee the Suna challenger's final preparations that day, no exceptions, while Gaara handled some correspondence with the Suna Council. Both Ronnie and Fred still had to go to their evening jobs, but given the sudden free time the girls decided to venture into the forest of death and see their dragons.

When they arrived, they were surprised to see that not even at two weeks old, they had grown to the size of horses. The girls tended to their dragons, and caught up with each other. They couldn't stay long, since they could only see the dragons at the edge of the forest grounds. Fred told them about her new job at the Nomu Ki Bar, stating she was making decent money in tips. Yuki, her boss, sounded like a bit of a hard ass, but also really caring and passionate about her bar and its patrons.

It was as they left the Forest of Death grounds Lynne asked with a wicked smirk, "So, Rox? I heard you coming back kind of late the other night. Care to explain?"

"What?" Cordi gasped, looking at her older sister with shock. Ronnie and Fred also looked on interestedly. Ronnie more confused than Fred.

Rox blushed under the sudden attention, smiling brightly as she stated, "I – uh, I went on a date with Shikamaru. Well, uhm, two dates."

Lynne grinned like a Cheshire cat as she laughed, "You're welcome."

Cordi shoved her sister and howled excitedly, "Get out! Why didn't you tell us!?"

"I second that question," Fred glowered at her closest friend.

Rox wrinkled her nose and shrugged. "Well, I didn't want to say anything in front of Temari, since she's his ex, and she's been so helpful," she explained. "This is the first time I can tell all of you together. And I didn't want to leave anybody out."

"This is so not fair," Ronnie groused. The other girls shot her confused looks and she added, "Not that. I'm happy for you, Rox. Really. But I get a job at the kennel to work with Kiba, and every time I make a move, he freezes up."

"Really?" Rox asked with a frown. "Shikamaru told me Kiba chases anything that walks in front of him."

Ronnie scowled off to the distance as she muttered, "Maybe he's never been pursued before. … Sexually, I mean."

Rox shrugged.

"Whatever," Cordi huffed, turning to her sister excitedly. Ronnie shot a hurt pout at her best friend, which Cordi waved off. "No news on the Kiba front. I'm curious how Rox's dates have gone with Shikamaru." She was practically on her sister's shoulder now, like a gargoyle on a cathedral. "Who asked who out? How did it happen? I need details."

"After the videos, Lynne dared me to pinch his butt in public, since she thinks he's my husband in the videos," Rox started.

Cordi, Ronnie and Fred gasped, "What?" and "You didn't," all together.

"I did," Rox muttered, a blush warming her cheeks from embarrassment. "Lynne threatened to do something much worse to his door," Rox added, pointing to the cheekily grinning ginger.

"Lynne!" Fred gasped.

"What?" Lynne responded guiltlessly.

"It's the twenty-first century. You can't just dare someone to pinch some rando's ass," Fred scolded, "IN PUBLIC! That's sexual assault."

"Oh, come on," Lynne huffed. "He wasn't just some rando. It was Shikamaru Nara." Fred shook her head in disbelief as Lynne continued. "Rox's favorite character, and the man I was eighty percent certain is going to marry her."

Rox looked affronted. "Only eighty?"

"I always hedge my bets," Lynne replied with a shrug. Rox gave a hurt pout. "Oh, come on. You've gone on two dates with the guy. Are you really mad at me?" Lynne looked at the middle friend, then rose an eyebrow in surprise as she said, "And got two kisses out of him."

Rox blushed furiously, and hissed, "What did we say about you reading our minds!?"

"Sorry," Lynne defended, holding her hands up. "I didn't mean to. Still …"

"Is he a good kisser?" Ronnie asked, squeezing in by Cordi.

Rox flushed crimson.

"Yes," Lynne said for her.

"Lynne!" Rox hissed.

"Alright, I'm _not_ sorry about that one."

Fred sighed as Rox and Lynne began to bicker. She'd long learned it was better not to get in between them sometimes. Especially on the little things. Plus, Lynne already knew better. She just did it that time to goad Rox. She cleared her throat, and looked at Cordi, and asked, "Anyway, Cordi, have you figured out how you're going to sneak Aleera into the desert?"

Cordi paused, looking at the oldest of their group. "What?"

"You're leaving in three days," Fred reminded. The group frowned at her, and Fred looked back at them disappointed. "Come on. Tomorrow is the festival. Next day is that tournament exam thing."

"Chunin Exams," the other four filled in.

"Whatever," Fred huffed with an eyeroll. "Then you leave the next morning. That's not a lot of time to figure out what you're doing with Aleera."

"Yeah," Ronnie sighed, "remember Gaara can pretty much see anything in the desert."

"I know," Cordi sighed. Out of all of them, she knew the most about Gaara and his abilities. She knew very well as soon as they hit the desert, Aleera was going to stick out like a sore thumb. A large red, flying lizard was already pretty eye catching, and with no forest to hide her. She chewed her inner cheek, and asked, "So what do I do?"

"You haven't thought about this at all?" Rox asked worried.

Cordi groused, "Well, we've had a lot going on. We've been here two weeks, and everyday there's something going on that demands our attention." She knew they were just weak excuses, but that didn't make them untrue.

"Cordi," Rox chided.

"I know," Cordi huffed, scratching her forehead. "Surely one of you has an idea of what I should do, though."

No one gave her an answer as they came into town, where the group saw Shikamaru chatting with Chouji and Ino. Ino gestured over to their group, and Shikamaru turned with a blush, then waved. Rox quickly waved back, then turned to her friends and said, "I'll catch up with you guys later."

"Get'im girl!" Ronnie called out as Rox jogged away from the group to her new boyfriend.

Fred frowned, checking her watch, which she bought last week with her tip money, since her phone no longer worked, and she needed to know how to tell time. She sighed, jutting her thumb to their ninja dorms on the street corner to the right. "Well, it's one. I need to head back to the apartment to get ready for my shift tonight."

"One?" Ronnie gasped, grabbing her sister's wrist and looking at the time. "Shit. I'm late for my shift at the vet! I'll see ya'll later!" She waved back at them as she began to sprint past the Rox, Shikamaru, Ino, and Chouji towards the Inuzuka Complex towards the southeast border of the village.

They each watched Ronnie sprinting down the road frantically. "Welp," Fred chimed, "I'll see ya'll later, too." Fred gave the girls a salute, then turned, heading back to the dorms, leaving Lynne and Cordi standing in the square.

Cordi chewed the inside of her cheek as she thought about her conundrum. "What do you think I should do, Lynne?" she asked, turning to her redheaded best friend.

Lynne's icy blue eyes looked over her carefully. "I think what you're thinking is the only thing you can do," she answered solemnly.

Cordi frowned, looking back towards the village, watching the people passing by. "I was afraid you were going to say that."


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six: Revealing Secrets**

Ronnie sat at the front desk of the vet’s office, making notes in the schedule from the clients’ letters scheduling check-ups as well as Tsume’s notes from client discussions about future visits. Tsume had mentioned a couple days ago that they were getting the new system that handled electronic mail soon set up and office phones. Ronnie was over the moon, and told the girls about it immediately. Phones. Email. That meant they’d have internet soon. When she asked how the phones were supposed to work, Tsume mentioned they likely ran off the satallites and towers, which is the system the Daimyo and Kage’s have been using the past couple years. At that revelation, Fred decide to try and reboot her cellphone, then hit reconfigure system, and voila, their cellphones were back. She did the same for everyone’s cellphone, and now they could call each other. Just in time too, since Cordi was going to be thousands of miles away in the desert in two days.

It was already three, and Tsume hadn’t said anything about her being late today when she arrived at one twenty, which Ronnie was very grateful for. Tsume was a great boss. Strict. But good and fair. And working there for a week and a half, Ronnie was already looking at a good paycheck. Enough to double her allowance at least.

But she didn’t take the job for the money.

Akamaru sprawled behind her on his pillow, chewing on one of his squeaky toys. Kiba had mentioned once or twice that Akamaru used to never leave his side, and joked that Akamaru might like Ronnie more. Ronnie joked back that Akamaru had good taste in people, to which Kiba agreed with a dreamy sigh, only to shake his head muttering he had to get back to work.

That’s what she and Kiba did. He’d make some lame excuse to talk to her at the front desk. They’d joke and flirt. Heavily. Then he’d make some lame excuse to return to what he was doing.

The kennel door opened, and she knew Kiba was about to walk into the lobby. Ronnie quickly made sure her periwinkle blue blouse was opened just enough to show off the cleavage her push-up bra created, and corrected her posture, and fluffed her hair. Something had to give with him soon. Any idiot could see there was chemistry between them. She’d seen him looking at her ass, so she knew he found her attractive. But so far, playing innocent with frequent Freudian slips hadn’t worked. Feeling his bicep hadn’t worked. Hell, the basic Bend and Snap didn’t work. So maybe she had to be a little more obvious. _Force his hand,_ she figured.

Kiba strolled in from the Kennel side with a frown on his face. He placed his forearms on the client side of the front desk. He smiled evenly at Ronnie, his gaze drifting down to her breasts as she puffed out her chest. She smirked, knowing he couldn’t see it with his attention fully enveloped by her bosom. She fingered her blouse’s collar at her clavicle as she asked, “Do you need something?”

“Uhm,” he breathed, taking a long moment to drag his gaze from her breasts to her face. He heard Akamaru grumble behind Ronnie from his usual spot on his tempurpedic pillow, and Kiba blinked away his stupor, giving the water user a charming smile. He jutted his thumb over his shoulder and said, “D’ya mind helping me with some of the dogs?”

She nodded, standing and “straightening” her blouse as if it was supposed to be showing more cleavage. She was totally aware of how intently he was watching her, and she mentally vowed she was going to break him today. Whatever was holding him back wasn’t going to hold him back anymore. If Rox could land Shikamaru, she could land Kiba easy. She walked in front of him back to the kennel, expecting him to be watching her butt sway in her tight miniskirt.

As she stepped into the kennel, she asked, “You just need help with feeding and watering again, right?”

“Yup,” he chirped.

She smirked. She knew he didn’t actually need her help. He just liked to watch her in precarious positions. She bent over to check the lower cabinets for the measuring cup, even though she knew full well that the measuring cup was on the counter by the sink. “Coincidentally” where she placed her ass as she hummed, “Where’s that cup?”

She felt Kiba step up behind her, his hip touching her but as he reached for it by the sink. He stepped back so he wasn’t touching her as he extended the cup to her. “Right here,” he grunted.

She straightened up, grabbing it and biting her lower lip seductively. “Right. How silly of me,” she chided herself, giving him a sultry look. He stared at her lips, and she knew she had him stuck. Time to go in for the kill. She held the cup against her shoulder as she stepped up to him, her chest pressed against him. “Kiba?”

“Uh-huh,” he breathed, his mind clearly somewhere else as he stared at her.

“What are we doing here?” she asked.

“Feeding the …”

“No,” she interrupted. “I mean _us_. What are we doing?” He gulped as she put the cup down on the counter, chewing on her lower lips as she posed, “We can’t go a conversation without flirting. You stare at my ass, and I pretend I don’t notice.” She saw him blushing and smiled. She reached up, fingering his jacket’s fur collar as she added, “I know you’ve noticed I have difficulty keeping my hands off you. So why are we fighting this?”

“Uh,” he grunted dumbly.

“Do you want to kiss me?” she asked. “Do you want to give into this animal attraction we clearly have for each other?” she added, her caramel brown eyes penetrating his black eyes.

His gaze flicked to her lips, as he said, “Yeah, but …”

That was all she needed. She fisted his jacket and pulled him to her, crashing her lips against his. She licked at his lips, and he let out a groan as he opened for her, his tongue pushing against hers eagerly. His eyes fluttering shut as hers closed. Mentally, she began cheering for herself that she finally did it. Not only was she kissing him, but he was kissing her back with the same urgency she felt. His hands held her head to his in an intimate grasp as he held her to him. “Oh, Ronnie,” he groaned, seizing her lips again as he pressed his body against hers. Her hands snaked around his neck, one hand finding its way into his silky brown tresses. The kiss was hot, and his hands dropped to her hips as he maneuvered her around, pressing her into the counter, using its pressure to pin her hips against his.

She reached behind her to push herself to sit on top of the counter, wrapping her legs around his hips, her miniskirt hiking up, allowing her to feel his hardening cock through his pants and her thong as her tongue licked at his lips and tongue, then using kisses to travel to his ear. Their heavy breathing echoed off the kennel walls, and some of the dogs began to bark and howl. He ground into her, and she let out a pleased moan. “I shouldn’t be doing this,” he grunted, his hand squeezing her ass, enjoying its tight but plush shape. “Ma’s going to be pissed.”

She kissed back to his mouth as she said between kisses, “You always do what your mother says?”

“Clearly not,” he grunted back before seizing her mouth with another searing kiss. “Fuck, you’re hot,” he breathed against her lips. His fingers pressed into her ass cheeks and thighs as he added, “And you feel amazing.”

“Shame we waited so long,” Ronnie joked, grinding against him before pulling him back in. And he sighed into her. Heaven. This was heaven.

“WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON IN HERE!?!!?!!?”

Kiba and Ronnie broke their kiss, turning fearfully to the Kennel door, where Tsume Inuzuka glared at the couple murderously.

He gulped as his heart plummeted. He was screwed. “Uh, Ma,” Kiba croaked, easing away from Ronnie awkwardly, as she did her best to close her legs and fix her skirt, “this isn’t what it looks like.”

Tsume held up a dismissing hand, and ordered, “Outside, Kiba.”

“Yes Ma’am,” he mumbled sheepishly, quickly walking out, and abandoning the young water user to his mother. Tsume didn’t even look at him as he passed, her glare solidly on Ronnie.

“We were just …” Ronnie started.

“You’re fired,” Tsume barked, interrupting her and pointing an accusing finger at her. She pointed back to the desk and huffed, “Pack your shit and get out of my office.”

Ronnie moved swiftly, mentally cursing herself for getting caught. She actually enjoyed working there, even when she wasn’t actively seducing Kiba. She grabbed her purse and quickly walked out, seeing Kiba standing outside looking at the sidewalk awkwardly. She paused by him, and said, “I …”

Kiba opened his mouth to say something, but his mother barked from behind him, “Go on!”

Ronnie nodded, quickly walking back to her dorms, Kiba watching her retreating figure, his heart sinking a little at the sight. She looked somewhat dejected about being dismissed like that.

“Damn. She was good too,” Tsume growled next to him as she watched the water user continue down the road. “I told you … I fucking told you to keep it in your pants with that girl. My own son can’t follow simple, stupid directions.”

“You didn’t have to fire her,” Kiba stated, not daring to look his mother in the eye. It was his fault. He had realized he couldn’t control his emotions around the otherworldly girl after working with her a day. He couldn’t keep himself in check enough to save her job. She probably hated him. His heart ached at the thought.

“I caught her making out with my son on the clock,” Tsume growled, turning to him, her arms crossed. “What? Am I supposed to give her a raise?”

“No,” Kiba huffed, still not looking at her. “You could have fired me instead,” he suggested glibly. Although, it wasn’t a suggestion he made lightly. He’d actually been thinking about it a lot. Sure, he liked dogs, but certainly there were other jobs he could do than vet work. He always hated working the vet. Dealing with the prissy clients, like Mrs. Sekkachi who spoiled her dog rotten. He was horrible at it. In the week and a half since Ronnie started working there, the front desk was actually organized, and clients weren’t waiting thirty minutes for him to find their paperwork. It was one of the reasons he liked Ronnie. She fit well. And his mother liked her as a person.

He knew crushing on Ronnie was a bad idea. For so many reasons, it was a bad idea. But he couldn’t help it. She was pretty and bubbly, and the first girl Akamaru liked around Kiba. That was saying something. When Kiba would go back to handle the Kennel, Akamaru preferred to hang out with Ronnie behind the front desk. He treated her so differently than he treated Tamaki.

“You’re my son,” Tsume stated. “When I’m gone, you and Hana will be running this vet clinic. Ronnie, although an invaluable worker, was expendable.” She let out a begrudging sigh as she said, “You probably just did it to spite me. It’s the same thing with Tamaki.”

Kiba scowled, “What are you talking about?”

His mother rolled her eyes, then looked at her son knowingly. “That cat girl. Tamaki. You pretended you were serious about her not three weeks ago…” Kiba opened his mouth to defend himself, but his mother pressed on, “… _Even though_ you knew she was from our rival clan, and any relationship between us and them is forbidden. Now it’s with Ronnie, who you also knew was off limits. It’s self-sabotage. Your father did the same thing.”

“I am nothing like Dad!” Kiba howled back, baring his teeth. His father was famous in their home for running away when Kiba was about six. Kiba long knew his mother probably scared him away, but as an adult, his mother dropped hints that there was something more broken between them than her personality. His mother appraised him coolly, a hint of disappointment in her eyes. He scoffed as he added, “And what if I don’t want to run the vet clinic?! I have bigger plans, you know.”

She glared back at him, her nostrils flared as if she was smelling insubordination. “Don’t be ridiculous,” she huffed. “I love you, son, but we both know you’re never going to make Hokage. At some point, you need to get your head out of your ass and realize that.” The comment hit Kiba squarely in the chest, and he did his best to keep a straight face. Tsume turned back to the vet clinic and growled, “Now go home. You smell like a bitch in heat.”

Tsume shoved the door open and walked back in, with Akamaru walking out. The old dog stood next to his master whose gaze was trained off into the distance. Akamaru nudged his hand, and Kiba blankly patted his head. Then he began walking, letting his feet carry him. Akamaru followed along all the way to the familiar stoop, and Akamaru let out a groan.

“Hush,” Kiba ordered. He lifted his hand to knock on the red door. His knuckle made two raps, and the door swung open, revealing a young woman with chestnut brown hair and hazel eyes. She wore a short-sleeved kimono, with capris pants.

“Kiba?” she asked, swinging the door a little wider open.

He didn’t say anything, and pulled her into a kiss. She kissed him back, pulling him into her house. He broke his kiss a little as he panted against her lips, “I’m sorry, Tamaki.”

She frowned, caressing his cheek as she said, “It’s ok. I knew you’d come back.”

He paused, blinking as he tried to remember what she thought he was apologizing for, realized she didn’t know anything about Ronnie starting to work at the vet. Or that he’d been dreaming of the otherworldly woman in such illicit ways. Playing with fire by entertaining the undeniable chemistry he had with her. So there was no reason for Tamaki to know about Ronnie at all. Ronnie was gone, and he would likely never run into her again. His heart ached again at the thought. He wasn’t sure if he could handle if it did that with every thought of what he blew with Ronnie. He was sure it was Hell.

Clearly, she could see his frown, and she filled in, “You suggested we go on a break a few days ago.”

“I know,” he breathed quickly, their break-up coming back to him. It was a week though. He did it because he started seriously considering pursuing what he felt between him and Ronnie. That if he felt so drawn to another woman, then clearly Tamaki wasn’t who he should be with. He wasn’t sure about Tamaki to begin with. She was from a rival clan, meaning they could never be more than this. And she had a thing for cats, which was fine until it got weird and started arguments. The biggest thing against her was Akamaru didn’t like her. And he did like Ronnie. Tamaki was pretty and made his heart pound, but after meeting Ronnie and seeing how his dog liked her, he wasn’t sure that was enough. But that was over now. Ronnie probably hated him for getting her fired. “It doesn’t matter,” he said more to himself now, pulling her back into another kiss, falling back into their usual rhythm.

*~*~*

Oddly enough, this Thursday evening, the Nomu Ki Bar was not its usual hotbed of activity. Several people came in to eat and drink. Karaoke was slotted for Saturday nights, and trivia on Tuesdays, so usually Thursday was the first day of weekend socializing. And the Nomu Ki usually had a special on half-off kushikatsu and sushi. But it hadn’t pulled in its usual Thursday night crowd. Fred suspected it had something to do with the festival going on tomorrow.

Fred’s favorite past time since becoming the Nomu Ki’s bartender was people watching. The people were so strange here, compared to where she was from. Their interactions, while completely alien to her, had also become familiar. She’d begun to pick-up on who was into who. If a date was going sour. If a date was going well. Who the regulars were and what drinks they liked. Some of the faces that had come in she’d begun to recognize, mostly as regulars, but some as ninjas her friends pointed out from the show. And Fred had always been good with names and faces.

There was a table of three girls with varying hair colors and styles. The demure one with dark purple hair, fair skin, and a modest outfit was Hinata, she remembered from their arrival. The stunning blonde with the purple outfit was Ino, whom the group had run into a couple times going from their dorms to the school. The one Fred didn’t know had a medium strawberry blonde, almost pink-haired, bob, who wore a red dress that went to her mid-thigh and a purple diamond decorating her forehead. They chatted of their lemon sours, with Hinata mostly staying quiet, but chiming in occasionally.

Fred picked up a dirty glass, pocketing the tip under it as she dumped it in the chute for the kitchen, then mopped up a spill with her rag. Over her year working as a barista, she learned it was always best to look busy at all times at work.

The door opened, and in walked the familiar frond shaped ponytailed ninja currently dating Fred’s childhood best friend. Next to him was the obnoxious blonde they ran into the first day, Naruto. When her friends would talk about the comic or show during school, she vaguely understood the appeal. Now that she met Naruto Uzumaki, the main character, she really didn’t understand the appeal at all. He was so loud. And dumb. She understood he probably had his genius moments, but generally speaking, he was clueless.

Fred’s gaze shifted over to Hinata, who all of her friends, except Lynne, agreed belonged with the annoying blonde. Hinata, who had been relaxed talking with her friends before his arrival, was now sitting rigidly straight, staring straight ahead, and blushing. Oh, yes. Fred could see what her friends had been gushing about.

Shikamaru and Naruto sat at the bar, Naruto huffing, “Why couldn’t we just go to Ichiraku’s?”

“Because it’s half off kushikatsu here, and you can’t eat ramen every day,” Shikamaru stated as he sat down on one stool.

Naruto sat next to him with a pout as he grumbled, “Says who?”

Fred moseyed over to them, leaning gently on one arm as she asked, “What’ll it be, boys?”

“Fred!?” Shikamaru yelped, looking up wide-eyed. “I didn’t know you worked here.”

Fred shrugged as she put her rag away. “I started last week when Iruka got Kakashi to agree to drop the afternoon half of our schedules since we can’t use chakra. So …?” she trawled the last bit, looking at them expectantly.

“Erm,” Shikamaru mumbled blankly. “Two beers. One stout and one …”

He pointed to Naruto, who filled in, “One pale ale.”

“Pale ale,” Shikamaru clarified, even though she heard the blonde. “And an order of kushikatsu.”

Fred nodded, writing down the order for the cooks before ripping off the sheet and calling back, “Another order of kushikatsu!” She then reached for two frozen beer steins and lined them up with their corresponding ale taps, and began to fill them.

“You aren’t going to tell Rox I was out drinking tonight, right?” Shikamaru asked a little nervously. Naruto giggled like Shikamaru was busted.

Fred let out a scoff as she let the taps go. “Rox likely won’t care,” she stated, handing the boys their beers.

Shikamaru frowned as he took his stout from her. “She told me she didn’t like to drink.”

Fred frowned with a shrug. “Did you ask if she wanted to drink or if she wanted to grab a beer?”

“Is there a difference?” Shikamaru asked as Naruto began sipping his pale ale.

Fred nodded. “Yeah. She and Cordi aren’t big beer drinkers. They prefer their white wines.”

“She said she tries to avoid the bar scene,” he clarified, still confused about this new information.

“Ah,” Fred laughed. “That.”

“So she does avoid bars?” Shikamaru asked.

She shrugged as she went back to wiping down her bar area as she said, “That has less to do with drinking, and more to do with people not holding their liquor.” Shikamaru shot her a confused look, and Fred leaned in on her elbows on the bar so he could hear her. “Rox is terrified of vomit.”

“What?” Naruto balked. “Why?”

Fred shrugged. “I dunno’. Just a Rox thing.” She turned to Shikamaru, adding, “So, if you drink smart, she won’t care.”

“Oh,” Shikamaru breathed, blinking at his beer with a small smile. Something about that expression told Fred he felt refreshed to learn that about Rox.

“KUSHIKATSU!” the kitchen called with a ding.

Fred dove over to the food window, grabbing the steaming plate before depositing it in front of the guys as she overheard Naruto commenting, “You lucked out. Didn’t Temari have that rule where you couldn’t go drinking without her?” Shikamaru nodded along as he sipped his beer. Naruto continued, “This one sounds like a winner. Which one is she again?”

“Black hair, reddish brown eyes,” Shikamaru answered. Naruto frowned, clearly not able to pick her out from the group.

“Was the navigator of our group,” Fred stated, placing the plate in front of them. Naruto made a small, “Oh,” face as Shikamaru begun to dig into the fried food. Fred frowned at the blonde as she asked, “But why are you so curious about who Shikamaru’s dating when you should be worried about your own relationship?”

Naruto shot her a weird look as he scoffed, “I don’t have a girlfriend.” Meanwhile, Shikamaru glowered at her with his mouth full.

Fred smirked, seeing the strategists mouth full, so she could spring into this. “Oh, but you could,” she stated, leaning closer to the blond.

Naruto’s cerulean eyes connected with her forest green eyes, and he smiled. “Are you asking me out?”

Fred barked out a laugh. “As if!” Naruto looked crestfallen at that, and even Shikamaru had to let out a laugh at his sad friend. “No, I’m going to help you ask out your soulmate.”

Now was Naruto’s turn to scoff. “You know who my soulmate is?”

“I know who everyone in my world thinks you’ll end up with,” Fred answered with a pearly smile. She jutted her chin towards the dining room towards the kunoichi as she added, “And she’s right here in this bar.”

That piqued Naruto’s interest, and he spun around looking at the sparse dining room. “Who?” His eyes flew wide as he located the kunoichi’s table. “It’s not Sakura, is it?” he asked a little nervously.

Fred bonked him on the head annoyedly, and he let out a yelp. “No!” she huffed.

“Fred, I don’t think—” Shikamaru managed, but she cut him off with an arched look.

“Come on. Who is it?” Naruto whined.

Fred smirked, as she answered, “Hinata.”

Naruto balked at her. “Hinata!?” Fred nodded with a beaming smile. “But she’s so weird,” he huffed.

Fred waved him off. “She’s only weird because she likes you and she’s shy.”

“Fred –” Shikamaru tried again, but Naruto interrupted him.

“How do you know she likes me?”

“Apparently, it’s covered in great detail in the comics,” Fred explained blandly. She shrugged as she added, “If you don’t believe me, we can settle this with a bet.” Naruto frowned at her, but clearly she’d piqued his interest again. “It looks like she’s almost done with her drink, so I’ll make her a new one for you to take over and strike up a conversation. I’ll pull the other two away, too. If she’s not interested, I’ll buy you ramen.”

Naruto really perked up at that. “Ichiraku’s?”

Fred gave a bland head bobble of “whatever” as she grumbled, “Sure. BUT…” She held up a finger for emphasis. “If she _is_ interested, you owe me twenty bucks.”

Naruto pursed his lips, eying the earth user carefully, then shifting his gaze back to the table of kunoichi. He laughed as he put his hand out over the bar, “Alright. Deal.”

Fred shook it with a beaming smile to match while Shikamaru looked between both of them disappointed, mostly at Fred. As they let go of each other, Fred began to quickly make a new lemon sour for the dark-haired beauty.

Naruto began to move with some excitement showing in his shifting shoulders as he asked. “So, what do I talk to her about?”

Fred gave him a weird look as she laughed, “I dunno’. Cheese.”

“Cheese?” he asked skeptically.

She set the newly made drink down, and said, “Any topic will do. If it’s right, things will just start flowing.” She straightened herself out, then turned to leave the bar. She made her way over to the women’s table, bowing between the blondes and stated, “I’m sorry. But can I talk to you two at the bar? There seems to be an issue with your tab.”

“What?” Ino gasped.

Sakura grumbled, “Alright. Come on.” They both stood, and Sakura turned to Hinata and added, “Just hold on. We’ll be right back.”

Fred turned to Naruto as the women got their purses and gave him a wink. He grabbed both drinks and began walking over there as Fred led the two women back to the cashier at the bar. “I’m so sorry,” Fred trawled as she got behind the register with an easy smile. “I spilled some water on your tab ticket. So I have to rewrite your orders to make sure everything is accounted for.” Ino rolled her eyes, and Sakura huffed, repeating their table’s order as Fred wrote it all down. Once she finished, she reread it, and Sakura confirmed it. “Thank you so much. I’m terribly sorry for the interruption. Would you like another round of lemon sours? Complimentary, of course.”

“Yes, thank you,” Sakura stated, while Ino was looking back at the table with bewildered interest.

“Actually,” Ino started, putting her hand out to slow her friend, “just the two. Looks like Hinata doesn’t need one.”

Sakura frowned at that, and turned, only to gasp in surprise at the sight of Naruto happily chatting with the Hyuga heir. He sat down in one of the vacant seats at the table, and it looked as if they had fallen into a comfortable conversation. Sakura narrowed her eyes, and furrowed her brow, before snapping back to the bartender and asking suspiciously, “There wasn’t anything wrong with our tab, was there?”

Fred’s placid customer service smile remained as she said, “Let me get you those drinks.” She moved down the bar towards Shikamaru, making two more lemon sours. Shikamaru shook his head in disapproval as he sipped on his stout.

“Excuse me,” Sakura huffed as she and Ino made their way down the bar to confront Fred. “You didn’t answer my question.”

Fred paused, giving the two ninjas an innocent look as she said, “I was under the assumption you wanted your drinks. Was I wrong?”

“No, but…” Sakura tried.

“Ok then,” Fred continued mixing the drinks and ignoring Sakura’s sour face.

Ino turned to Shikamaru accusatorily. “Were you in on it too?”

Shikamaru held up his hand, glaring at Fred as he said, “I wanted no part of this.”

Ino scoffed. “So they were just trying to pull us away.”

Fred finished the drinks and set them down. “Look,” she growled, her verdant eyes looking at both girls, “for the past the past six years, I’ve had to listen to a ‘will they/won’t they’ debate about those two ad nauseum. I now received an opportunity to capitalize on it. Now, you two can ruin that opportunity, and go back to your table. OR you can have these drinks at the bar free of charge.” She held her hand over the drinks possessively for her final point. “What’s it going to be?”

Sakura and Ino looked at each other, clearly sharing in a nonverbal discussion before both sat down at the bar next to Shikamaru, Ino sitting in the middle in Naruto’s old seat. Fred smiled, and pushed them their drinks, then went back to mopping up the bar, keeping an occasional eye out on Naruto and Hinata.

After a minute of silence, Ino turned to Shikamaru and asked, “Why did you bring him here? You knew it was our girls’ night, right?”

Shikamaru made a weird face, and replied, “I actually did not. I brought him here because on Thursdays, it’s half-off kushikatsu here.” He gestured to his half-eaten platter of fried food

“What?” Ino and Sakura gasped, apparently unaware of the Nomu Ki’s Thursday night special.

Ino frowned at the food, then turned to Fred and asked, “Can we get an order?”

Shikamaru pushed his platter over to her, stating, “Take some of mine. I was planning on sharing with Naruto.” Ino shrugged, and grabbed a stick off his plate, eating it. Sakura did the same. They chatted some more, which Fred tuned out as she handled a few new customers coming in. She overheard some of their conversation. Sakura thought Naruto hadn’t matured enough, and was going to hurt Hinata’s feelings by saying something stupid. Ino seconded that opinion. Shikamaru thought Hinata was going to turn him down on account she was much too sophisticated for the blonde hero. Something Sakura too agreed with.

After a little while, Naruto came back up to the bar, a sheepish smile on his face as he approached Fred. The brunette smiled as she asked, “So?”

He reached in his pocket and pulled out a crisp twenty. He held it over the bar to her, and Fred took it with her thumb and index finger. “We’re going out for ramen,” he said happily.

Fred smiled wider. “Good.” Naruto gave a proud nod, and turned back towards Hinata, who was waiting at the door for him. “Oh, and Naruto,” Fred called before he stepped too far away. He turned to Fred, a curious expression on his face as Fred added, “Don’t fuck it up.” He scratched his jaw as he laughed sheepishly. Then he turned to leave.

Fred smirked as she shot the Naruto’s classmates a look, snapping the crisp twenty dollar bill at them.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” Shikamaru breathed, watching Fred as she pocketed the money, then turned to watch Naruto join Hinata at the door.

“What?” Sakura and Ino asked together, looking between Shikamaru and Fred, only to follow his gaze to see Naruto walking out with Hinata, his hand on her back as if guiding her outside like a gentleman. Only Ino was able to manage a small, pleasantly surprised, “Huh.”

*~*~*

Cordi paced in the field outside the Forest of Death gate, fidgeting with her claddagh ring her parents had given her years ago. Her sister had an identical one, except with an amethyst, while Cordi’s was an emerald. She always twisted it when she was nervous about doing something. It was after one o’clock in the morning. She was sure she’d written to meet at one.

 ** _Is he here yet?_** Aleera asked in her mind.

_No. Just wait until I call you._

She heard a distant “harumphf,” and rustling of branches. Aleera was always so impatient.

Cordi kept pacing. Her heart pounded as she worried what he would do. What he would say. Think. A part of her heart told her to trust him. That since he changed in the Chunin Exam arc, he was always known to make sound and wise decisions. He would see that Aleera was harmless. To his village at least. He would see that Cordi was responsible enough for her. That she could trust him to trust her.

So, why was she so nervous he would freak out? Why was there a nugget of fear telling her this was a bad idea? Even though it was her only option. _He won’t just make snap judgement about Aleera. He’s more understanding than that. He’ll want to hear me out,_ she reassured herself. “Nothing to worry about,” she breathed as she paced. “Nothing to worry about.” _Except that he was late!_

A twig snapped and she jumped, fearfully looking in its direction. Nothing was there. She squinted, doing her best to look into the shadowed forest. It was way too dark, though. The clearing where she was standing wasn’t much brighter, but it was being illuminated by the half moon. Seeing nothing, she sighed, muttering, “Get a hold of yourself, Cordi.”

“Temari was right.”

“JESUS CHRIST!” she yelped, jumping in the air like a scared cat. As she calmed her breathing and put a hand over her heart to calm its frantic beating, she turned to see Gaara watching her coolly. He was dressed for battle in his red outfit rather than his Kazekage robes. But his crossed arms and slightly disappointed expression was disarming. “You scared the shit out of me!” she hissed.

“You would make a terrible ninja, and an even worse assassin,” he assessed.

Cordi gave him a look that was a mix of horrified and confused. “Thank you?” She gestured to his gear and asked, “Who’re you planning on fighting?”

He raised his hairless eyebrows at the question and remarked, “Well, given the oddity of your request, you or someone who put you up to it.”

Cordi balked and put her hands up in a surrendering fashion. “I just want to talk.” She couldn’t believe she was still huffing from her heart’s pounding pace.

His gaze narrowed skeptically as he commented, “At one in the morning, by gate six of the Forest of Death? **_Alone._** ”

She huffed annoyedly at his suspicious tone. Yes, it was an odd request. She knew that. “I just needed to show you something before we leave in a few days. Since it’s a secret, I didn’t want any prying eyes, or judgements from the peanut gallery.” The glimmer in his eyes was her only hint that he didn’t understand what she was meaning. She closed her eyes, straightened herself, and took a calming breath. “Look, I’m letting you in on a secret between me and my friends.” She frowned before adding, “Well, Temari also knows. But that’s it.”

His brow furrowed at that. His sister knew a secret about Cordi and her friends that had the girl on edge. So he was right with his suspicion that his sister was hiding something with Cordi for the past week and a half. He decided his best move was to listen to what she had to say. He had earned her trust, which was something he’d been hoping for since it was decided she would be staying with him and his siblings. Best not to waste it.

She ran her hand nervously through her hair as she chewed on the inside over her cheeks. “Ok,” she started with a sigh, “before I tell you anything, I need your word that you will first hear me out, and not make any snap judgements. Kind of the reason I’m telling you now,” she added more absently as she began pacing nervously again, twisting the ring on her finger, and he just watched her. “Because if I didn’t tell you now, then there is no way you won’t find out once we reach the desert. Which then you will definitely make a snap decision, which might hurt someone. And everything will get blown out of proportion, and I really want to avoid that --”

He began to worry she would keep rambling, so he cut in, “Cordelia.”

“Right,” she huffed. “Do you promise to hear me out first?”

He frowned, still standing in a guarded position. “Yes.”

She let out a long steadying breath before whispering, “Alright.” She closed her eyes, and turned to the forest. _Now!_ she directed.

There was only silence for a few seconds, then the sound of trees rustling and branches snapping, which pulled Gaara’s attention to the Forest of Death. There was no wind to cause them to move like that. He pooled some chakra in his navel, readying to fight. A large shadow sprung from the trees, soaring over the gate. He felt his heart plummet in what could only be fear as he saw what landed in front of him. It was a red giant, winged lizard. A dragon, he was sure. It had vibrant red scales that looked like armor. It had horns like a ram, and was easily the size of a horse, minus the black wings. Its fiery red eyes looked at him appraisingly as it stepped forward, its tongue flicking out occasionally.

Without thinking, he pulled out some sand to incapacitate the beast. Cordi sprung forward as his sand shot out at the beast, and she cried, “NO!” She threw her hands out in front of the beast, getting between it and his sand.

He froze, his sand stopping as he was struck by the memory of his uncle jumping between his sand and the other kids. She looked so much like Yashamaru did that day. But she wasn’t protecting children like his uncle, or her sister like the Hoki girl did the last time he was struck by the memory. She was protecting a beast. A dragon. A monster, any normal person would agree.

“You promised to hear me out first. She’s what I brought you here to see,” Cordi said clearly.

He frowned. _She._ This wasn’t a monster to Cordi. Against his instincts, he pulled back his sand. He did promise.

Cordi visibly relaxed as his sand retreated to his gourd, and she turned the giant lizard, placing her hand on its nose. If he wasn’t mistaken, she looked at it like a mother would a child. “This is Aleera,” Cordi stated as the dragon nuzzled her hand. “On our second day here, their eggs came falling out of the sky. And when they hatched, they awakened our powers.” She laughed as she turned to him with a smile and asked, “Remember when I caught the kitchen on fire?”

He nodded, still warily watching the dragon.

“I’m fire,” Cordi explained. “I can summon and control anything to do with heat, fire, explosions … I think one time I summoned a lightning bolt, but I’m not certain.” Gaara frowned, realizing she was about to explain all of the weirdness that had gone on the past two weeks between her friends and his sister. Honestly, he’d been curious why Temari felt the sudden need last week to own a hundred metal spoons.

“My sister, Rox, is air. Anything with wind, she can control it.” She laughed as she added, “She’s probably gotten the most out of Temari’s training. She can perform both Temari’s Wind Scythe and Cyclone Scythe jutsu without needing a fan. Temari was really impressed about that.”

As was Gaara, although he remained resolutely pokerfaced.

“Ronnie is water. She’s picked it up the fastest. Summoning rivers, underwater springs. She was even able to use her own sweat as bullets for Temari’s target practice,” Cordi bragged, although she wrinkled her nose with disgust on the last tidbit.

“Her sister, Fred, is earth. Anything from the ground, she can control it. She could probably out control your sand if you fought her,” Cordi joked. Gaara remained quiet as he filed that information away, feeling trepidation at the idea someone could use his sand against him. “Not to mention summon trees, and flowers, really any plant.”

 _Like the first Hokage,_ Gaara realized.

“And Lynne is mind or spirit,” Cordi added. That one took him by surprise. _Wasn’t the fifth element lightning?_ He realized Cordi said she thought she summoned a lightning bolt, so maybe he was wrong. “She can use telekinesis, which she’s been practicing by bending spoons.” That explained the hundred spoons. “Her powers are the most unknown, to be honest,” Cordi added. “Oh, she can also read minds like a book.” Cordi turned to him with a sorry look as she finished, “So, she told me you’re dating Matsuri.”

Gaara’s eyes flew wide at that, feeling blindsided by the news. Not only could one of her friends read minds, but she’d already read his mind. That explained the strange conversation the evening before the summit.

Cordi continued on, turning to Aleera as she added, “We each got a dragon that we’ve been hiding out here in the Forest of Death. Aleera is mine.” She turned to Gaara as she nervously added, “Meaning she’s coming with me to Suna.” When Gaara only answered the comment with a stern frown, she added more fervently, “I _have_ to take her with me.”

Gaara looked at the lizard appraisingly, letting the pregnant silence linger between them before he asked, “And where do you plan on housing … _her_?” Cordi looked at him warily, which he only responded with a skeptical scowl. “According to you, she’s only two weeks old, and already the size of a small horse. She can’t stay in the tower, and it may shock you to hear, but Suna doesn’t have a readily available lair for a dragon.”

“That’s one of the reasons I needed to talk to you before we left. I know the general setup of Suna, with the Kazekage tower sitting in the center of the city. The city itself is walled in by a mountainous canyon,” Cordi stated. She chewed on her cheek before adding, “I was hoping it was like the Grand Canyon back home, which has an extensive network of caves and caverns. That would work well.”

The redheaded Kazekage looked at her deadpan. For a girl who’s never seen the Village Hidden in the Sand, she sussed out the general defensive structure of the city, as well as its secret, the caverns the village used for its evacuation protocols. He had mixed feelings about that. “Yes,” he answered, slowly. “There are caverns in Suna’s walls. Some large enough to accommodate her growing size to a point.”

“So, she’ll stay there,” Cordi said with an easy smile. Something about that expression made him uneasy.

“And if she out grows that? Then where?” Gaara asked. Someone had to ask the difficult questions. “What about feeding? Can you guarantee she isn’t going to eat the villagers?”

“I’m not a fan of humans,” a gravelly voice replied. Gaara’s eyes flew wide as he realized the voice came from the giant red lizard glaring at him. That was unsettling. Aleera added, showing off her teeth, and a roiling fire in the back of her throat, “I prefer my meat more gamey. It chars better. But if I ever find I need to eat a human, then …” She trailed off at the end, glaring at the Kazekage as she licked one of her sharp teeth.

Gaara could tell the dragon was making a thinly veiled threat to him, but Cordi reached up to the dragon’s neck, and growled, “Be nice, Aleera.” The dragon snorted at the reprimand, smoke billowing from its nostrils as she turned, padding away from her master, curling up on herself and preening her wings. “Look,” Cordi huffed, crossing her arms tightly under her breasts as she stepped closer to Gaara, “I can control her, but she _has_ to come with me.” Gaara looked at the fire user carefully. It was clear Cordi felt uncomfortable under his discerning cyan gaze by the way she looked away and licked her lips as her chest puffed. “Temari trusted me. If you can’t trust my judgement, maybe you can trust hers.”

Gaara let the silence hang between them as he thought it over. Not only were they getting a woman with untested and untrained fiery capabilities, but also a carnivorous, fire-breathing dragon. As he mulled it over, he realized the Land of Wind would be one of two nations with such a power. The girls each had the possibility of complete mastery of an entire element, similar to his ability with sand. Except their magic wasn’t limited by chakra. Which might make them more formidable, despite their slow speed. On top of that, dragons. Likely similar in strength, and possibly size to the tailed beasts. The last time the ninja world was faced with such a power, it had been split equally among the five great nations at the first Kage Summit. He hated thinking of Cordelia as a weapon, but as Kazekage, it was impossible to overlook he’d already put Suna ahead of the curve against the other nations having already acquired one set. Meanwhile, Konoha still had four.

“Alright,” Gaara breathed, looking at the dragon carefully. _I’ll need to write the Council about this change immediately,_ he realized. Knowing them, he was certain they’d likely want Cordelia tested to become a shinobi. He looked her over carefully as she let out a relieved sigh.

“Thank you, Thank YOU!” she cheered, quickly giving him a hug, which took him by surprise. His eyes flew wide, and his body went rigid at the sudden touch, but he held his sand back, not wanting to hurt her. He felt her arms squeeze around him as she pressed her large chest into his. His heart pounded as he realized how nice and warm it felt to feel her cushioned against him. Not to mention the surprising aroma. Her forehead pressed into his shoulder, her hair falling against his cheek and neck, which felt as soft as silk and smelled of citrus and mint. It was … nice. He blushed, realizing for the first time, he didn’t mind the contact.

She pulled away, sheepishly muttering, “Sorry. Lynne mentioned that you didn’t like being touched. I’m just a hugger.” She blushed, tucking a lock of dirty blonde hair behind her ear as she added, “I’ll do my best to reign my instincts in.”

“It’s alright,” he said before he could think to say otherwise. He noticed her hopeful gaze on him again, and he grimaced as he felt that familiar flutter in his heart, a new phenomena since Cordelia’s arrival he couldn’t begin to understand. He cleared his throat as he added, “It’s something I’m working on. So…” He trailed off, wondering what made him admit that. He shook his head, deciding not to keep talking. Something about her for some inexplicable reason was so disarming to him that it made his brain seemingly disconnect from his mouth to allow such personal and incriminating information out. No one except himself knew he was working on the physicality of relationships. But he just openly admitted it to this strange girl. His only solution to this problem was to be silent, so he pursed his lips and looked away.

Cordi beamed at him for an uncomfortably long moment. Gaara did his best to act like he didn’t notice, meanwhile mentally cursing his loose tongue.

“Ri-ight,” Aleera growled, standing up and stretching her back like a feline. “So I’m gonna’ go.” Then she promptly spread her wings, and launched in the air, diving back deep into the forest, the gusts from her wings blasting up dust and dirt at both Cordi and Gaara, who threw their arms over their faces to protect them.

“We should probably return,” Cordi stated as the gusts died down, and they were now alone, in the middle of the night. “It’s easily a forty-five minute walk back to the hotel, and it’s late.”

He remembered her saying she couldn’t do a basic shunshin the other night when they had that surprising late night heart to heart. Without a word, barely even a sigh, he stepped next to her, grabbing her at her waist, and she stared at him wide eyed. He quickly swept her legs up under his arm with surprising strength and swiftness that caused her to let out another yelp as he held her bridal style. “Hold on tightly.”

He felt his heart pound under her penetrating gaze. But silently, she put her arms around his neck, clasping her hands together. As soon as he felt her hands clasp, he jumped into the air, using the shunshin to make his way back to the hotel.

She made a strange clearing in her throat, and he looked down to see her blushing, and looking at his chest. “Are you alright?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she chirped, her grasp tightening. She mumbled, “I just wasn’t expecting you to carry me back to the hotel.”

Gaara frowned. “It’s late, and you can’t shunshin,” he explained as if it meant nothing.

“Still,” she peeped, her blush still enflaming your cheeks, “thank you.”

*~*~*

July third was an oddly quiet day at the Nomu Ki Bar. Fred assumed it had something to do with the festival people were getting ready for that evening. Yuki had already informed Fred that they were to close at six, since Yuki was running a booth in town square, selling beer, wine, and sake with novelty cups as a promotion for the bar. Yuki had said it was a two-man job, her and cook, so she was giving Fred the night off, she’d just have to close up. It was fifteen minutes until six, and she was wiping down tables quickly, and setting up chairs in certain sections to close right at six. The only people sitting in the dining room were Ronnie and Rox, who were working on Rox’s appearance for her date with Shikamaru.

Ronnie lightly brushed light purple eyeshadow on Rox’s eyes while Rox sat rigidly, nervously adding occasionally, “Don’t go too dark. I don’t need to look like a prostitute.”

“Chill,” Ronnie huffed, dipping her brush into a darker purple this time as she added, “I know how to do eyes.” She dotted it evenly on the lid, then switching to the other eye as she added, “Don’t forget, I do have more practice than you.”

Rox pouted at the comment, muttering a small, “True.”

Through high school, neither of the Turner girls got into the practice of regularly wearing makeup. Rox was usually too focused on her portfolio to care how she looked, and Cordi said she was too lazy to make it a regular habit. They’d wear it for special events, like holidays, church, school dances, or dates. For the last two, if the girls were all going together, the girls each had assigned parts for doing each other’s looks. Ronnie and Fred had mastered eyes. Both could create a smoky-eye look that dramatized the look without being too much. Rox was a hair master if she had enough time, but Fred usually had to fill in where she couldn’t. Only Lynne was too particular about her hair to touch. She cut and dyed her hair herself, and short of a minor “hold this lock in place while I grab a bobby pin,” none of the girls touched her hair. Cordi was a goddess of lipstick. She liked to mix her lipstick colors. No lipstick was the correct shade or level of bold for her. It always needed to be “enhanced” by another. Lynne always handled style. Basic outfit to accessories, she had an eye for smallest details to finish a look.

So, when Rox arrived that evening with her base foundation, blush, and clear lip gloss, and in a cotton purple tank dress, bronze gladiator sandals, and her hair in a messy bun, Ronnie immediately pounced, crying, “Rox, this is a _date_ date! You can’t just wear that. You need some ‘VaVoom!’ Have we taught you nothing?” She then ushered the wind user to a vacant table, and whipped out her travel makeup kit, and got to work.

Ronnie finished Rox’s eyeshadow, then pulled out her eyeliner. She braced her hand on Rox’s cheek and breathed, “Now, relax and don’t move.” Rox took a deep breath, then clenched her jaw. As soon as Ronnie applied the liner to the lid, Rox flinched a little reflexively. Ronnie hissed through clenched teeth, “I said don’t move.”

Fred let out a bark of laughter as she watched her little sister work on her oldest friend. Rox was clearly uncomfortable as Ronnie highlighted the line of her eyes.

Lynne walked in, announcing with a beaming smile, “Hello, all!” Her stride slowed as she saw Ronnie working on Rox’s eyes, and she smiled more mischeivously, setting her purse on the table, “What’s going on here?”

“Rox has a date with Shikamaru, and she thought she could go as Ms. Frump, and we wouldn’t say anything,” Ronnie huffed, moving to her other eye.

“I was going to finish the look once I got here,” Rox grumbled.

Ronnie looked at the wind user crossly as she growled, “Did I say you could talk?” When Rox pursed her lips annoyedly, Ronnie resumed working on the eye.

“Well, you can’t wear your hair like that,” Lynne stated, walking over, pulling Rox’s hair out of its messy bun.

“I ‘qhas ‘onna’ ‘raid it,” Rox stated through gritted teeth to not disturb Ronnie’s careful strokes.

Lynne frowned, running her fingers through Rox’s black tresses as she asked, “Like French braid?”

“Mhm.”

Lynne shook her head, starting to grab a few locks. “No,” she said with a smile. She gathered more locks in her fingers as she begun to work, “You’ve worn a French braid or messy bun every day since you got here. Shikamaru should see what you look like with your hair mostly down.” She reached into her purse quickly, pulling out a comb and some bobby pins and began to pull Rox’s hair into a simple pin-up style, teasing it in places to give it more volume.

Ronnie finished, handing Rox some mascara, and instructing, “Apply this,” which Rox did as Ronnie dove back into her bag for lipstick.

“Why are we coming here, again?” the group heard outside just before the door opened. The voice was deep and bored. “It looks like they’re closed.”

“Well, I didn’t say you _had_ to join me,” the unmistakable voice of Cordelia Turner snapped back. The rest of the girls had frozen in place to see Cordi walk in, wearing a red halter top, a white bolero crochet sweater over her shoulders, and blue jean capris with gray converses. She was followed by Temari in her usual outfit except without her breast plate. Behind them were two men who Fred was sure were Temari’s two brothers. _The Metallica brothers_ , she remembered from the group’s old cafeteria discussions. They didn’t look all that similar to her, but Fred had overheard enough to make an educated guess.

Fred ran her cleaning rag through her fingers as she took them in. She’d seen the redhead before when they first arrived. To Fred, he looked stiff and bored as he coolly regarded the girls. He was in the greenish aqua robes with what looked like a white cloak over his shoulders, and a white sash at his waist.

The last one wore a black tunic that reached his knees over a navy turtleneck. The tunic was tied close with a light blue sash at his hips, and he wore a black hood and purple facepaint. But she noticed he had dark, expressive eyes; thin brown eyebrows, and an easy, friendly smile. If it wasn’t for the excessive facepaint, she’d say he was attractive. Really attractive.

The dark eyed man’s gaze caught Fred’s verdant stare, and she felt a zing go through her body and her throat close a little, which she cleared with an awkward cough. Those eyes didn’t just see her. It felt like he was staring into her soul. It was a stare that would get her in trouble if she stared back for too long. “Ya’ll can have a seat wherever,” she stated going back to work. “And I don’t think Yuki will mind if you want to order some drinks, but the kitchen is closed.”

Temari whispered something to her brothers, possibly warning them about the difficulty or futility of interjecting on one of the group’s conversations, as Temari had been experiencing heavily the past week. The Sand kunoichi had smartly developed an always listening and speak when spoken to habit while dealing with them as a group. Fred felt a little sorry for the exclusivity of their conversations alienating the woman who’d been teaching them to use their powers. But once a pop-culture debate got started amongst them, it was difficult to shut down, and included a lot of fast talking and quick quips.

“Thank God, you’re here,” Ronnie sighed over her sister, practically skipping over to Cordi, and looping her arm in hers. “I just can’t decide which lipstick Rox needs.” She steered the fire user to her sister and held up four different shades of lipsticks, light pink, dark pink, wine, and bombshell red.

Cordi inspected the lipstick shades carefully, and immediately eliminated the bombshell red and light pink, stating the light pink was too “Barbie” and the bombshell red was too bold for Rox. She held both wine and dark pink lipsticks up to her sister’s face.

Rox frowned, looking at her sister contemplating her lips as Lynne pulled her hair into place, and Ronnie leaned on the next table. “Y’know, it wasn’t supposed to be this big thing,” Rox complained.

“Of course it’s a big thing,” Lynne replied staunchly. “It’s your third date with ...” She paused awkwardly as her gaze flicked nervously to Temari then back to Rox’s hair, working with renewed fervor, “… with this guy.”

This interested Kankuro, who chimed in, “Oh? Who’s the lucky guy?”

“I’m gonna’ go with the wine,” Cordi decided, holding the wine lipstick up, clearly ignoring the Suna jonin.

“No,” Rox whined with a pout, “that’s too dark. I’d never wear that.”

“Not if I …” Cordi started, reaching into her own purse, where she was well known to carry around six different lipsticks of completely different colors. She pulled a pale nude lipstick the shade somewhere between pink and taupe out of her bag victoriously as she said, “… mix it with this color. It’ll be perfect.”

“That’s actually a pretty color. What’s it called?” Lynne chimed in as Cordi uncapped the lipstick and pushed it up.

Cordi and checked the bottom and read, “Nude Flash,” She paused awkwardly and looked up to see everyone’s questioning stares varying from Kankuro’s smirk, to Gaara’s wide-eyed awkward blinking, and Lynne nodding knowingly. “I didn’t pick the name. It’s one of those drugstore lipsticks,” Cordi murmured as she focused on applying the lipstick to her sister’s lips.

After a momentary pregnant silence, Fred piped in, “You all sure you don’t want anything to drink.”

The hooded brother held up a finger as he said, “I’ll take a beer.” He made a face as he looked at her, and added in a lower, mocking tone, “Though you probably knew that’s what I’d ask for.”

Fred scowled at him, not appreciating his snarky tone. “And why would I know that?” she snapped back, doing her best to not make too much prolonged eye-contact. It had been a long time since a guy could just look at her and make her squirm. Since Travis, at least. That ended in catastrophe before it ever even took off. Rox knew of Fred’s crush on the eldest Turner when she and Rox were eleven, but she didn’t know how deeply it burned. She didn’t know how hurt Fred was when she walked in on him kissing his girlfriend, and realized he’d never look at her beyond his kid sister’s best friend. But this was different. It wasn’t Rox’s brother this time.

Kankuro’s brow furrowed with the slightest hint of confusion as he gestured to her group of friends and said, “I thought you all knew everything about us.”

Fred rolled her eyes, picking up the chairs on the last empty table and stacking them. “Unlike my friends, I was not a Narutard.” She finished stacking that table and moved to the bar, “What kind of beer?”

“Your best lager,” Kankuro more asked than answered, his dark gaze following the eldest of the girls as she passed him with a hair flip, even though it was a short chin-length bob. “What’s a Narutard?”

Fred reached into the fridge behind the bar and pulled out a bottle of Tsuboishi. She’d tried it once, and it reminded her of the beer her brothers liked to drink. “In the bottle or in a glass?”

“Bottle’s fine,” he answered.

She gave a stiff nod as she grabbed her bottle opener and answered, “’Narutard,’ is the name for people who like the show Naruto, in my world.” He reached in his pocket for cash, and Fred waved him off. “It’s on the house,” she stated, biting her lip as she watched how he moved. He reminded her so much of Travis in a weird way.

He tipped his bottle to her in a salute, and her heart skipped a beat as she watched him take a sip. He tilted his head, giving an agreeing nod to the taste as he swallowed. She was just staring at him. His dark eyes caught her, and he smiled. Fred forced herself to blink as a voice in her head screamed, _QUIT STARING AT HIM!!!!_ She turned back to the conversation, welcoming the distraction, feeling his eyes on her as she went back to cleaning up her tables.

“Yeah, like ‘Potterheads’ for Harry Potter fans.” Ronnie mused airily. “Or ‘Trekkies’ for Star Trek fans.” She smirked evilly at the redhead working on Rox’s hair as she added, “But only the nerdiest of the nerds watch Star Trek. Isn’t that right, Lynne?”

The girls laughed at Ronnie’s jab, while Lynne smiled mirthfully, and replied with a laugh, “Yeah, ya’ll can live long and go fuck yourselves.” She went about setting the last bobby pin in Rox’s hair as she added, “At least I wasn’t obsessed with the dumbest show ever to grace television, Dragon Ball Z.”

“Here we go,” Fred sighed, under her breath, earning a concerned look from Kankuro.

Cordi jumped up at Lynne’s comment, pointing and accusatory finger at the spirit-user, “You take that back.”

Lynne smirked. “No. That show fifty percent screaming, forty percent ‘this isn’t even my final form,’ and ten percent plot.”

“Dragon Ball Z was a cultural tour de force,” Cordi began to argue, gesturing with her hand for emphasis, “that paved the way for anime into international audiences, especially into western cultures. Without it, many animes would have been barely a blip on the radar, which includes Naruto.”

Lynne stepped back, finished with Rox’s hair as she huffed at Cordi, her arms crossed over her chest. “You done?”

Cordi nodded. Fred couldn’t help but notice the three siblings were watching the debate with enraptured attention, their eyes flicking between Lynne and Cordi like spectators at a tennis match.

“Ok,” Lynne smirked. “I’m not arguing with its popularity. I’m just saying that a show critic, which they market as a positive review on their material, described DBZ as a mix between pro-wrestling and martial arts. And personally, I would say add a dash of soap opera, and that’s the show.”

Cordi shook her head as she gave the redheaded girl an incredulous look. “ _And?_ It’s amazing!”

Lynne shook her head with a scoff.

Fred let out a sigh. If she didn’t stop the argument, no one would. Before Lynne could add anything, Fred stepped out from behind the bar and added, “In all honesty, if it wasn’t for Dragon Ball Z, Ronnie, Cordi, Rox, and I would not have become the group of best friends we are. And without us, Cordi would not have invited you to come sit at our lunch table when she saw the Konoha keychain on your bookbag when you first transferred to our school halfway through sophomore year. So, you kind of have DBZ to thank for having such amazing friends.” Fred finished with a flourish, gesturing to the rest of their friend group. Cordi nodded in firm agreement at Fred’s statement.

“I have DBZ to thank for my sexual awakening,” Ronnie mused aloud, her gaze focused off in the dreamy distance. The comment earned weird stares from everyone, especially the Sand siblings who had been silently observing the girls during the debate. They regarded the water user with mostly apprehension, and varying levels of disgust, while Ronnie’s close friends and sister looked at her with bland disapproval.

Fred licked her lips before sucking on them, giving a small tut before responding, “You didn’t need to share that.” She quickly segued away from her sister’s awkward comment by adding, “Anyway, if you want to compare anime series on quality, then the animes Gundam Wing and Evangalion outstrip Dragon Ball, Naruto, and even Yu Yu Hakusho, which of the latter three is probably the highest quality.”

Lynne scoffed, “You’re only saying that because you have a weird preference to Gundam shows.”

“Evangalion is not a Gundam show. It’s Evas,” Fred corrected haughtily.

Lynne shot her a rueful expression as she asked, “And the evas are giant mech suits, like Gundams.”

Fred opened her mouth to retort only for Cordi to interrupt. “Honestly, Fred has a weird preference for everything,” Cordi remarked, going back to Rox’s lips with the wine color lipstick this time and dotting it along the bottom.

“Excuse me?” Fred gasped, her pitch higher than usual.

“Do this,” Cordi directed to Rox, before smacking her lips together for example, a move that would blend the colors. She straightened as she added, “Remember her favorite character in Yu Yu Hakusho was Kuwabara.”

“Now wait just a minute –” Fred tried.

“Yamucha in Dragon Ball Z,” Rox added with a shrug once her lips were set. She turned to her oldest friend with a question expression as she added, “Seriously, who likes Yamucha?”

“Voldemort,” Lynne added, “Although granted, he was hot when he was young.”

Fred threw her hands up as she said, “Alright. I’m feeling kind of attacked now. And since this is my bar at the moment, I think ya’ll should leave.” She finished with a swinging gesture to the front door. She added, “With exception to Temari and her Metallica brothers, who are being nice,” pointing at them grouped together at one table.

“Metallica brothers?” Gaara asked, his tone dripping with confusion.

“A nickname we had for you and Kankuro,” Cordi explained quickly with an uncaring wave of her hand, still looking over her sister. “Your missing something, Rox.”

“Here. Stand up,” Lynne directed positioning Rox in the light to get a good look at her.

“But, why?” Kankuro asked, looking around the group for answers.

“Metallica,” Cordi sighed, stepping over to them, “is very popular band where we are from, and have been making music for almost thirty years. Two of their most popular songs are ‘Enter Sandman,’” she stated gesturing to Gaara, whose eyes went wide at the fact. She turned to gesture to Kankuro as she finished, “and ‘Master of Puppets’. Hence, Metallica brothers.”

Fred added to no one in particular, “‘Master of Puppets,’ was my ringtone for a long time. It starts with a really awesome guitar solo.”

Both Gaara and Kankuro frowned at the earth user with bewilderment at her explanation. “Shame we can’t hear it,” Temari commented, her arms crossed as she looked at Fred blandly. “I’m sure the music from your world is fascinating.”

“Actually,” Cordi corrected, “I have ‘Enter Sandman,’ on my computer. I can play it for you later.”

“But not ‘Master of Puppets’?” Fred asked, shooting her youngest friend a judging look.

Cordi shrugged, stating, “While I agree ‘Master of Puppets’ is one of the best guitar songs, the vocals leave a lot to be desired. Meanwhile, ‘Enter Sandman’ was an instant platinum record, and is considered their biggest hit as well as their signature song.”

“That’s it!” Lynne exclaimed, pointing at Cordi. “Give her your sweater.”

Cordi frowned, fingering her crocheted sweater’s lapel as she whined, “But it’s my white for my red, white, and blue.”

“Fourth of July is tomorrow,” Lynne argued.

“But aren’t there fireworks tonight,” Cordi argued back, looking around the group. A few people shrugged.

“Just give your sister the freakin’ sweater!”

Suddenly Ronnie jumped up, exiting the bar with quick movements and into the town square. Everyone’s gazes followed her out. “Where’s she going?” Fred asked, seemingly the only one able to talk at the sudden action.

There was a long silence as the group crowded the front window and watched Ronnie skip out into the square until Cordi grumbled, “Oh.”

“What?” Fred asked, still confused as the rest of the group crossed their arms, joining the other three at the front window.

“Three guesses,” Rox replied with a smirk. “First two don’t count.”

Fred frowned. “A guy?”

“Yup.” “Bingo.” “Uh-huh.” Each answer was said simultaneously and with the same bored tone and banality.

“Anyone we know?” Kankuro asked before taking another sip of beer.

“Kiba,” Temari, Cordi, Rox and Lynne answered together.

This earned raised eyebrows from the men. “Apparently, she’s been trying to seduce him,” Temari added quietly to her siblings.

Kankuro spat out his drink, earning strange looks from his siblings, and Fred who turned to frown at the mess he made. “Sorry,” he muttered sheepishly, grabbing a napkin off the bar and cleaning it up.

Cordi lost interest in watching her best friend woo the dog trainer, and took off her sweater, revealing the red halter top she wore that showed off her well-endowed chest. She handed the crocheted clothing to her sister, muttering a small, “Here.” Rox took it, putting it on over her dress.

“Perfect,” Lynne stated before taking off her key necklace and said, “just add this.”

Kankuro mopped up the puddle he made, adding under his breath to his sister, “Seduce _him_? Really?”

Temari nodded her answer with pursed lips.

Kankuro was about to ask why when Fred interrupted them, asking Kankuro directly, “Another one of the nicknames from this show my friends had was ‘Reverse Pinocchio.’ Given you’re into puppets, is that _also_ you?”

Kankuro’s mouth hung open at the question. He looked to his sister for a clue, but she just frowned, shaking her head with a shrug. “I’m sorry. _Pinocchio_?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Fred brushed off. “The fairy-tale about the puppet?” When he only frowned at her, she added, “Y’know. ‘I’m a real boy!’” she said it in a weird voice, as if she were quoting something. Again, he only frowned at her, but his siblings also looked at her confused.

Kankuro began to shake his head when Rox chimed in, “It was Sasori.”

“Huh?” Kankuro and Fred grunted together.

“Sasori was Reverse Pinocchio,” Lynne clarified, still watching Ronnie and Kiba. Her brow began to furrow as she continued to watch.

“In Pinocchio, Pinocchio was a puppet who became a real boy. In this world, Sasori was a real boy who became a puppet,” Cordi explained, her arms crossed as she watched Ronnie flirting with the dog trainer, and Kiba sheepishly warding off her advances. Cordi turned pointedly back to Fred, adding, “Hence ‘Reverse Pinocchio.’”

“Oh,” Fred mumbled, giving a small pout. “I thought it had something to do with lying, since Pinocchio’s whole thing was not lying.”

Kankuro frowned at the comment. “Why would a puppet worry about being honest or not?”

“Because his nose would grow when he lied,” Fred answered as if it were obvious. When she was again only met with strange expressions from the Sand siblings, she waved it off. It would be too much to explain if that story didn’t exist here.

Lynne turned back to watch Ronnie, who was now standing awkwardly alone while Kiba walked off. Ronnie turned to her friends in the bar, and gave a large, “What the fuck?” shrug. Lynne pouted back. “That sucks,” she breathed.

“Huh, she struck out,” Rox commented with a frown. Both she and Lynne leaned to watch Ronnie as she stomped back to the bar.

“Really?” Cordi asked with a frown. That rarely happened for Ronnie.

The front door swung as Ronnie stormed in, her hands on her hips as she paced and howled, “What is wrong with the guys here? I’m fucking Veronica Buchanan. The hottest girl in the school! Back home, guys were _lining up_ to date me. But _here_ , I can’t get one asshole to talk to me after his mom walked in on us.” Through her anger, the sink behind the bar groaned, then began pouring water with tremendous pressure, water spraying out the base.

“Oh shit!” Fred gasped, sprinting over to the sink with a towel. She put her hand over the faucet, using her power to dent the metal into closing and slowing the torrential flow. Kankuro jumped in to help her, grabbing napkins to mop up the pooling water on the back counter. “Ronnie! Cut it out!” Fred cried.

Ronnie ignored her, growling to herself, “I mean, it shouldn’t be that fucking difficult!”

Cordi stepped up, grabbing Ronnie by her shoulders to slow her down. Lynne stepped up behind the fire user, and ordered, “Look at me, Ronnie.” Ronnie did begrudgingly. “Alright, breathe in…” Ronnie did as instructed, her scowl permanently fixed. “And out …” Ronnie did with a whoosh, and the water from the faucet slowed to a trickle, then just a drip. “Now,” Lynne said in a calming voice, “I agree, what Kiba did was a dick move, but –”

“What’d Kiba do?” Cordi asked, her tone low and threatening.

“You aren’t supposed to be reading our minds,” Ronnie scolded Lynne.

“Sorry,” Lynne apologized, holding her hands up in surrender, “But you were practically screaming it after talking to him. You know, my power is a lot more difficult to just turn off.”

“What’d Kiba do?” Cordi growled more urgently.

“You all have powers, now?” Kankuro asked, looking at the five girls with confusion. “I thought you all didn’t have any chakra.”

When his eyes settled on Fred, she sighed, holding her hand over the faucet, the loud groans and pops of metal the only sign she was using her power as the faucet returned to its normal shape. But no one answered Kankuro directly.

Ronnie chewed on the inside of her cheek as she looked at everyone who would now be privy to her dating life beyond her usual circle of friends. She sighed as she said, “Yesterday, I finally got him.” Cordi’s brow shot up, and her eyes wide at the news. Ronnie ignored her closest friend’s reaction as she stated, “I told you all that for last week and a half, we had this chemistry going. Constantly flirting. Just generally vibing well, but every time we hit what seemed like an opportune moment, he’d get weird and shy out of nowhere. So yesterday, I made a last ditch effort.” When she was met with looks of confusion, she clarified guiltily, “I did a variation on the ‘bend n’ snap.’”

She was answered with a small chorus of, “Oh,” from the women present as they nodded along, like they knew what she was talking about. Both Gaara and Kankuro looked at each other cluelessly. Kankuro mouthed to his brother, “The bend and snap?” Gaara only barely shook his head to tell his brother he too was unsure what that meant.

“Yeah, I’m not proud of it, but it worked,” Ronnie continued. “He fell for it hook, line and sinker. So, we’re making out and his mom walks in.”

“Oof,” Kankuro laughed, only to earn scowls from all of the girls.

“Yeah. It wasn’t the best timing,” Ronnie huffed begrudgingly. “So, Tsume fires me on the spot.”

“Woah, wait!” Fred called, holding her hand up to stop her sister’s story. “You mean you did this while you were on the clock at the vet?!” Fred seethed, glaring disappointedly at her little sister.

“Ok, I didn’t catch that part earlier,” Lynne confessed with a baleful nod, clearly referring to when she previously read Ronnie’s mind. “That’s iffier.”

Ronnie shot her sister an exasperated glance. She shrugged with a huff, “Not like I see him anywhere else.”

Lynne scoffed, “Still.” Fred nodding from the counter, clearly agreeing with the spirit user.

“Oh, like either of you are one to judge,” Ronnie snapped back at the oldest members of their group. “You both have done worse in less respectable and sometimes less legal places.”

“Hold on!”

“Now wait just a minute!”

“I’m just being honest.”

“This is not about us!”

“Right, this is about you and Kiba not respecting the workplace.”

“It’s funny hearing that from you, Ms. ‘I-did-it-in-a- _church_!’”

Lynne gasped, her expression murderous that Ronnie would bring up such a subject.

“ALRIGHT, ENOUGH!” Cordi yelled, overpowering everyone’s voices and silencing them as a surge of heat rippled through the room. Cordi looked at Rox for assistance, setting her jaw as her older sister looked away from the group. She always was non-confrontational. “Ronnie,” Cordi barked, frowning at her oldest friend deeply, “apologize to Lynne.”

“But she-!”

“No. You just blabbed something personal you were told in confidence,” Cordi rebuked. “Apologize.”

Ronnie sucked air through her nose as she looked at her feet, her expression a bevy of emotions. She was silent for a moment before uttering, “I’m sorry for my big mouth, Lynne. I shouldn’t have said that.”

Lynne remained silent.

After a tense moment of silence, Ronnie cleared her throat, gesturing to the door as she said, “Well, I’m not up for the festival anymore, so I’m going to head back to the dorms.” The water user regarded Rox quickly before adding, “Good luck on your date.”

The silence returned, just as awkward and tense as before. Lynne looked to the Sand siblings briefly, then cleared her throat as well. “I’m not up for the festival either. I’ll see you all later,” she sighed, walking towards the door. She stopped by Rox, adding with assurance, “He’s not going to know what hit him.”

Rox smiled, saying a small, “Thank you.” Lynne shot her a wink, and left.

There was silence again before Cordi grumbled, “Well, _that_ could have gone better.”

“Is that kind of blow up normal for you guys?” Kankuro asked, a little laughter in his voice to dispel the awkward moment.

“It’s not uncommon,” Fred sighed, returning to the final tasks of closing up the bar. She checked her watch, mumbling, “It’s five until six.”

Rox looked up, wide-eyed. “Already? Crap. He’s probably waiting for me.” She made her way to the door.

“I thought you told him to meet you here,” Fred replied with a frown. “It’s what he said yesterday when he came here for dinner.”

The Suna ninja looked among the girls with interest. Kankuro turned to Rox and inquired, “So who’s the lucky guy? You all have been dodging that question. Don’t think we didn’t notice.” He nodded to his siblings, who also nodded with curious expressions.

She looked back at him sheepishly, shaking her head with weird frown. “Oh, just some guy.”

Cordi suppressed a snort, watching her sister doing her best from letting Temari find out she was dating her ex. Non-confrontational to a tee. She looked away, only to catch Gaara watching her carefully, as if her small derisive snort just told him who Rox was trying to run off to meet.

Kankuro raised an eyebrow at Rox’s answer. “’Just some guy.’ On your third date?” He scoffed as he mumbled, “High praise, indeed.”

Rox glanced out the window nervously, ignoring the puppeteer’s jibe. Her eyes went wide as she began to move in a flurry. “He’s here! I gotta’ go!” With a quick flurry of movement, she left the Nomu Ki Bar to cut off her date from entering.

Kankuro, out of curiosity, stepped up to the window to get a good look at Rox’s mystery guy. His smirking expression quickly fell as he looked at Rox’s date, as he uttered a grave, “Oh.”

Temari stepped forward with a haughty smile as she asked, “Who is it, Kankuro?”

“Uhm,” he breathed, not able to look at his sister.

She stepped up beside him and looked anyway. Her smile fell as her aquamarine eyes fell on Rox chatting lively with Shikamaru Nara. The shadow user laughed and scratched his head under his ponytail before offering his arm, Temari reading his lips as he asked, “Shall we?” Rox smiled eagerly, looping her arm with his as they proceeded into the festival.

Temari stepped back, shell-shocked at the revelation. Her brother caught her at her shoulders. “Temari?” Kankuro breathed worriedly.

She didn’t answer, instead turning to look at Cordi and Fred. Cordi immediately looked guilty and apologetic. “I’m so sorry you had to find out like that,” Cordi offered, stepping forward.

It was over. He was on his third date with another girl. It had been mentioned several times. He was dating someone else. Tears stung at her eyes that she blinked away, but the throbbing lump in her throat would not permit her to say anything. Her brain was going too fast to form thoughts into words. It did slow as she realized she could not break down and cry here in front of her brothers and these girls she thought were her friends. She had to leave. Find someplace quiet to nurse her shattered heart. “Excuse me,” she coughed before running out.

Gaara watched his sister run out with blinking confused worry, then turned to Kankuro. His older brother chewed on his bottom lip, then turned to Cordi and asked, “Are they really on their third date?”

Cordi nodded affirmatively.

Kankuro let out a steady stream of air before grumbling, “Geez.”

“Shikamaru?” Gaara asked. He seemed the most logical answer, but it was better to know definitively rather than assume.

“Yeah,” Kankuro answered.

“Alright,” Fred cheered, not entirely sure what everyone was so bent up about. “Time to lock-up. Everyone out.” She started hitting switches that shut off lights, and moved to the table the Sand siblings had been occupying. She pointed to Kankuro’s abandoned, half-drunk bottle of beer, and asked, “Are you done with this?”

Kankuro answered by grabbing the bottle as she began to stack the chairs on the table. They moved out of the front door as she turned off the last of the lights. It was only the beginning of the summer evening, and the temperature had only just begun to noticeably drop. Fred dropped the populated keyring in her purse to give to Yuki at the festival. She turned to the shrunken group from the seven they were supposed to be celebrating with to four. The man Cordi had a crush on, and Cordi, and the man Fred found irresistibly tempting, and Fred. Fred forced a smile as she cheered, “Let’s go.” _Into the weirdest “non-double date that turned into a double date” I’ve ever been on,_ she finished in her head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: So, this chapter was originally longer, but this last part stretched so long that just the part was 20 pages. And there were still 4 more parts to write. When I chopped it there, the entire chapter came to 27 pages. So, you can imagine how bad it was getting. Getting to split is taking way longer than it should. I'm on the last night! Whatever.
> 
> I know some of you are probably going to have a problem with me introducing phones, and giving them their cellphones. Here's why I'm doing it. Boruto has cellphones. And Naruto Shippuden has satellite communication and video chat, which I looked up how that worked for something else, and surprise, they all ran on phones. In the Naruto hiden novels, Gaara mentions the new email system, which became a thing because of the internet, which became a thing because of phones. Now, by the time email was a thing, car phones had been around for about a decade, which essentially worked just like cellphones (just plugged into the car). Just judging by the rate of technology and what came when in our world, and comparing it to Naruto, it would make sense for the technology to make cellphones work to be there, just maybe not in that use yet. And configuring your phone to new towers/signals is not that difficult, so I figured they could do that. It also makes communication between the group easier when Cordi goes away, which I plan on using.
> 
> That's all. Remember to leave a review!


	8. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Lemon Warning*

**Chapter Seven: The Last Night**

Fred, Cordi and the two sand brothers began to make their walk towards the festival three blocks down towards the Hokage’s Square, mostly in silence, which was only broken by Kankuro finishing his beer and tossing it into a trash can. The girls led the men as they walked steadily towards the gathering crowds and music that imperceptibly grew in volume with every step. “Is it just me, or is this a little weird?” Cordi commented.

“Everything’s been a little weird since we got here,” Fred replied smartly. “You’ll have to be more specific.”

Cordi laughed, and said, “No, I mean us.” She gestured between her and Fred with her finger and thumb. “You and I never hang out just us. Usually Ronnie, Rox or Lynne is also with us.”

Fred frowned, then turned slightly to the men behind them and added, “Well, I’m not sure this is an exception, since we have two of your new roommates with us.” She tilted her head in thought, placing a finger to her chin as she added, “Oh, and this isn’t the first time we hung out just us.”

Cordi frowned. “It’s not?”

Fred nodded with a remembering smile. “A month ago. You and Ronnie were supposed to do the senior prank. But Ronnie ended up working late at the vet. So I had to help you get the cow on the roof.”

“Right,” Cordi laughed, remembering the night as well.

“You made the same comment then, too,” Fred added.

“I’m sorry,” Kankuro interrupted, sounding very confused by the story. “Why were you putting a cow on a roof?”

“Oh, it was part of our class’s senior prank,” Cordi explained nonchalantly.

Kankuro gave the fire girl a weird smile. “What’s a senior prank?”

Cordi turned back around, catching both brother’s surprised expressions that she could seemingly move as if she had eyes in the back of her head. “I’ll explain. So, in our world, kids go to school until they are eighteen, or they can continue on until they’re in their twenties if they want to go to college, maybe get a master’s degree, or a doctorate.”

“That sounds horrible,” Kankuro stated, remembering his time at the Suna Ninja Academy and hating going to class thoroughly. He was proud to have graduated when he was twelve, and never really looked back.

“Anyway,” Cordi continued, shooting a scowl at the puppeteer for interrupting, before continuing to explain the long held American tradition of the Senior prank, as well as explaining why they were putting a cow on the roof of the school being that cows could only go upstairs, and would cost a lot of money to get it down. Both men blinked at the women as if they were insane once the explanation was through.

“So, are pranks a big thing in your culture?” Kankuro asked.

“You did say you did have a pranking holiday,” Gaara stated, remembering his conversation with Cordi.

Kankuro raised an eyebrow at that. “Really?”

Cordi nodded blandly. “Yes. It’s called April Fool’s Day.” Kankuro mutter something along the lines of, “How bizarre,” as Cordi noted Fred’s unusual silence. She leaned over to Fred for a second and whispered, “Fred, are you ok? You don’t usually let me monopolize the conversation like this.”

Fred pursed her lips, realizing she couldn’t just outright tell Cordi she was hit like a bus with a crush on this new man. She frowned as she realized she didn’t even know his name. Cordi never introduced him. She knew one of them was Gaara, because Cordi talked about him constantly. But the other one, no. And it wasn’t like she knew whose name was which either. She stopped as she said, “I just realized I don’t know either of your names. We’ve all been chatting for twenty minutes, and Cordi completely forgot to introduce you.”

“That’s because everyone else knows who they are,” Cordi commented, stopping with her. She added in slight reprimand, “And it’s not like we haven’t told you to start learning them.” Fred rolled her eyes at the admonition.

Fred huffed as she said, “Well, I think introductions are in order. So, I’ll start.” She place her hand over her chest, which wasn’t as large as Cordi’s, but was happily just shy of average. “My name is Winifred Buchanan. But everyone calls me Fred.” She held out her hand first to the redhead, adding, “I think you’re Gaara, judging by the description.”

Gaara nodded as he said a small, “Yes,” but didn’t grab her hand to shake.

She drifted her hand over to Kankuro as she asked, “So, what’s your name.”

He grabbed her hand and shook it as he said, “Kankuro.” Her grasp was firm and warm, and her verdant eyes connected with his dark ones. He felt tingles shoot down his spine and settle in his navel. He could tell there was something different about her to her friends. She was grounded. Driven. He liked that in a person.

“Kankuro,” she repeated with a small smile finding its way to her face as her gaze found his eyes again. “That’s a nice name,” she breathed, still shaking his hand. “What does it mean?”

He smirked as replied, “Thanks. Uhm, and I actually don’t know. It’s some ancient name that my Mom liked.” He laughed as he asked, “What about yours. What does Winifred mean?”

She raised her eyebrows, and lightly laughed, “Oh, it means ‘Blessed Reconciliation.’ But it doesn’t make sense with the rest of my name. It was just an ancient name my mom _also_ liked.”

Kankuro quirked his head. “The rest of your name?”

“Well, my middle name’s Delilah, which means temptress, but again was another ancient name my mom liked,” Fred explained. “And my last name means house of the canon, as in the weapon. So none of it makes any sense put together.”

She was floundering, she realized. She’d been shaking his hand this whole time. She dropped it quickly, clearing her throat as she put it in her pocket, then turned to keep strolling towards the festival. They were almost there.

“So, why three names?” Kankuro asked.

Cordi made a face as she explained, “Some ancient myth in our world that if someone knew your full name, they had power over you. So, it would only be used in certain ceremonies, like a wedding, or baptism.”

“So your parents pick two names when you’re born?” Gaara asked, just to politely make conversation. He figured the last name was their clan name, given Rox and Cordi were both Turners.

Both Fred and Cordi nodded vaguely. “Well, every family has their own way of picking names,” Cordi explained. “My family only picks from names already used in the family. Like I told you Cordelia was my grandmother’s name. And Roxanne, my sister’s name, was my Dad’s aunt’s name as well.”

“Hmmm, Winifred Delilah Buchanan,” Kankuro hummed. “It does roll together nicely.” Fred blushed, but was thankfully facing forward so he wouldn’t notice. She seriously needed to get this under control. “What about yours, Cordi? What’s your second name?”

Cordi laughed as if it was boring. “Rose. Cordelia Rose Turner.”

“Like the flower,” Gaara more stated clarifyingly than asked. He vaguely remembered the video from her family where her mother said her name like that. He didn’t catch it before, but now he did. He liked flowers.

“Like the flower,” Cordi sighed.

“And what does Cordelia mean?” Kankuro asked, “Since we’re on the subject of names, and yours are so alien.”

Cordi rolled her eyes. “It means ‘Heart of a lion.’” She shrugged as she added, “Although, Cordi just means heart. And before you ask, Turner just means someone who turns.” She emphasized it by spinning in midstride with a nonchalant shrug.

Fred looked at both men with a frown, eyeing their generally warmly dressed outfits, then said, “I have a question. It is beastly hot, not to mention ridiculously humid. How are you two not dying of heat stroke in those long ass sleeves?” She gestured at both of them, adding, “And in layers!” She nudged her head at Kankuro as she added, “And you in black. I can’t even imagine how you aren’t suffocating.”

Kankuro and Gaara looked at each other frowning. “It’s a little hot,” Kankuro commented with a shrug, “but it’s way hotter back home.”

Fred looked shocked at them, her mouth agape and eyes wide with horror at the idea. “’Hotter back home?’” Both men nodded blandly. “Geez,” Fred grimaced, looking at Cordi pityingly. “You are going to die out there.”

Cordi made a strange face as she replied, “You know, I thought so at first too. But ever since I got these fire powers, the heat hasn’t really bothered me like it used to. I also noticed during all that training with Temari, I haven’t gotten a sunburn.” She showed Fred her bare arm, which hadn’t even tanned, much less burned. “Which is weird, because I used to burn if I sat in a sunny window for thirty minutes.”

“That is strange,” Fred concurred, remembering how frequently Cordi sunburned during sporting events and long bus rides.

Cordi shrugged. “Maybe having power over fire and heat means I can’t get burned.”

“You all never explained your powers,” Kankuro noted. The girls turned back to look at him as he stated, “When you first got here, you didn’t have chakra. Right, Gaara?” He turned to his brother for clarification.

“They still don’t,” Gaara answered with a frown. Something in his brother’s tone told Kankuro his little brother knew more about it than he was letting on.

“So, what are you talking about?” Kankuro asked, looking between the other three.

Cordi and Fred looked at each other, as if psychically debating if he should be brought into the fold. They already showed him some of it back at the bar when Ronnie bust the pipe in rage. Fred explained their strange new powers, how each of them has complete power over an entire element. They stopped at a window box with wilting pansies, and she waved her hand over them. Magically, they came back to life, the blooms spreading more beautifully than before. Kankuro and Gaara stared wide-eyed at the spectacle as Fred laughed it off, muttering, “Makes me feel like some happy-go-lucky wood nymph,” as she continued on towards the festival, the men trailing behind her, both clearly impressed by her abilities. She added how Temari agreed to train them these past two weeks after talking with Cordi and then the rest of their group. She conveniently dodged the subject of their dragons, keeping that secret intact. But Gaara made a knowing glance to Cordi at the omission.

They slowed to a stop as they entered the festival. The Hokage’s square was alive with music, food and games. Cordi saw a game of ball toss, mentioning she manned a booth like this one time for one of the festivals back home she and Rox volunteered for with their church. Gaara suggested they try it out, and they made their way over to the booth. Fred paid for Cordi, since she was not given an allowance like the rest of them. Cordi missed the first one horribly, laughing it off, muttering, “My aim was always kind of shit.”

Cordi threw her second hitting one off the top, and then third with a grunt, knocking down four, totaling five bottles for her, and grumbled, “I wasn’t going to get all of these anyway.” The booth master let her pick out one of the minor prizes, and she grabbed a wacky finger puppet and joked to the Suna ninjas they were walking with, “You think I can join the Suna Puppet Core with this snazzy little finger-puppet?” Neither were much amused. “Tough crowd,” she groused.

“Watch and learn, Cordi,” Fred said, stepping up and paying the booth vendor her money. She threw her first ball, and it hit the middle of the pyramid squarely, knocking five bottles.

“Nicely done,” Kankuro offered.

“Thank you,” Fred replied, grabbing her second ball and spinning it in her hand for a second. She lined up her next throw and hit one of the bottom bottles so hard, it knocked the other middle bottle out as well as took down the last standing second row bottle.

“Last shot,” Cordi called as Fred reached for her last ball.

Fred saw the booth master smirking as if he’d won. She’d already earned a medium prize, and no doubt getting both bottles down for a grand prize was going to be difficult. She aimed her last ball and threw it. It hit one end bottle, then bounced and hit the last bottle in what could only be a miracle shot. She let out a whoop, and accepted a congratulatory high five and hip bump from Cordi as Gaara and Kankuro offered their congratulations. The booth master, shocked she pulled it off, offered her a look at his biggest prizes. Fred tapped her lips, then decided on the giant Shukaku plushie, earning curious glances from the men while Cordi beamed at her.

“Why did you pick that one?” Kankuro asked as the attendant pulled it down and handed it to her.

She shrugged, “I dunno’. It kind of reminds me of Niko from Pocahontas. Loved that movie as a kid, and I had a big plushie of him eating a biscuit back home.” She thanked the attendant as he handed her the plushie, which she positioned to hang on her back. Once he was stable, she turned to the men with a beaming smile and a sigh, “Anyway, who’s hungry? Or do ya’ll want to play more games?”

Kankuro smiled wide as he joked, “I think my brother and I could smoke you both at kunai throwing,” elbowing Gaara in the side. Gaara just looked blandly at his brother with a slight disapproving frown.

“It would be no contest,” Cordi laughed self-deprecatingly.

“Well,” Fred started with a pensive expression. “I’m not so sure about that.”

Kankuro looked at her challengingly. “Really?”

“Really.”

Cord leaned over to Fred and hissed behind her hand, “What are you doing? They’re ninja. Throwing kunai is what they do on a regular basis.”

“Yeah,” Fred whispered back, “but kunai are metal.” When Cordi leaned back, looking at her worriedly as if she’d gone insane, Fred just winked. “So, Kankuro, care to make it interesting?” He raised an eyebrow at that. She smiled widely as she offered, “Guys versus girls. Whoever loses buys dinner.”

Gaara narrowed his gaze at Fred as she smirked at Kankuro knowingly. The kazekage thought heavily on what Cordi told him last night about their powers. Fred was earth, meaning anything from the ground. Would that include refined metal? She had bent the metal pipe in the wall earlier when Ronnie blew it with her water powers. Before Gaara could speak up against the bet, Kankuro stuck his hand out to shake hers as he said, “You’re on.”

Fred’s smile was slightly unnerving as she grasped Kankuro’s hand. “Alright then.”

Kankuro led the group to the kunai throwing vendor. Kankuro paid for his and Gaara’s, and Fred for Cordi’s and hers. Once the knives were dealt, Kankuro gestured over to them and said, “Ladies first.”

Fred turned to Cordi, and told her, “Just throw as best you can.”

Cordi nodded stiffly as Fred focused on the kunai. Cordi lined up her first shot, and threw. Fred flicked her finger up. Mid-air, the kunai twisted slightly upward and flew true to the heart of the target. Cordi laughed with surprise. “I got the bullseye!” she gasped. “I GOT THE BULLSEYE!”

Kankuro looked at her surprised and said, “Uh, good job.”

Fred beamed at her youngest friend. “Yeah! Keep it up.”

Cordi picked up the next kunai, letting out a nervous breath. “Alright.” She took her aim then threw it. Fred flicked her finger again, and the kunai twisted right and sank into the bullseye next to the other kunai. “Oh my god! Two?! No way! I …” She trailed off as she held her hand up for a high five from Fred, who eagerly reciprocated the high five. But Cordi’s eyes landed on Gaara’s, who was scowling suspiciously at Fred. Suddenly it clicked. The kunai were metal. “I can’t believe I hit the bullseye twice,” she giggled, forcing a smile. They were cheating. She wasn’t a fan of cheating, but in this case, it was either hustle or be hustled.

“You’re doing great!” Fred beamed with two thumbs up.

Cordi nodded. “Alright. Last one,” she breathed, grabbing the last kunai. She spun the kunai on her finger, then grabbed it. She aimed it, let out a steady stream of breath. She threw it and it landed in the middle outer ring of the target. She looked at Fred who made a face that said that one was all her. Her eyes went wide, and Fred nodded. She’d scored a ten. Cordi smirked at Kankuro, and said, “Beat that.”

Kankuro grabbed his first kunai, spinning it around his finger as he smirked and said, “No problem.” He threw the first one, and it was just left of the bullseye. The second just right. The third hit just under the bullseye. “Damn,” he hissed. “Not my day.” He’d only scored a nine. He shrugged as he turned to his brother. “Sorry, you’ll have to catch us up.”

“Then we’re screwed,” Gaara stated with a pointed frown.

Kankuro frowned. “What? What do you mean?”

Gaara crossed his arms, and said, “Why don’t you go ahead and show him, Fred.”

Fred pouted. “You figured out my trick.”

Gaara nodded.

She sighed, turning and focusing on the kunai. She thrust her hand over them, and they began to float. Kankuro frowned, his eyes going wide as he saw her powers in action. She threw her hand up, and all three kunai shot out, nailing the bullseye dead on. “Hm, I guess that’s a total of twenty two for us,” she said with a chuckle, turning to the boys.

Kankuro’s jaw dropped as he looked at the kunai. “H-how? I-I thought … How?”

“I did tell you,” Fred said, wrinkling her nose it pitying expression, and with a shrug, “complete control over anything from the ground.”

“Which would include metal,” Gaara filled in for his brother. He reached for his own kunai, twirling it in his fingers as he added, “She’s was altering the throws in mid-air.”

Kankuro scowled, “You fucked with my score?”

“No,” Fred answered quickly. She jutted her thumb to Cordi and said, “I only gave Cordi a handicap, which is only fair, let’s be honest.”

Kankuro opened his mouth to retort, but Gaara quickly stated, “We did agree to teams. And she did only alter Cordi’s throws, who is on her team. So that is fair, even though underhanded.” He made the last remark shooting a slightly disapproving look at Winifred who scoffed it off. The Kazekage turned, and took his throws. The first hit the bullseye, the second just outside the bullseye, and the third the bullseye again. “That makes eleven, with a total of twenty for us.”

“But they cheated,” Kankuro scoffed.

“It wasn’t cheating, it was teamwork,” Gaara stated. “You would not have complained if Fred offered to take Cordi’s throws for her before we started. You were just overconfident.” Kankuro frowned at his brother. Of course Gaara wasn’t siding with Kankuro this time.

“It’s called a hustle, where we’re from,” Fred said with a smirk. Kankuro just scowled back at her, and her face broke into a wide grin.

Gaara cleared his throat. “Well, Kankuro did say losing team buys dinner. What would you like to eat?”

“I’ve been craving a cheeseburger,” Cordi answered, looking out around the vendors hopefully. “Like, a good basic cheeseburger.” Most of the restaurants in the area predictably made Asian cuisine, at least Asian from their world. But there were a few that carried western foods the girls were more used to. Cordi made a scene when Temari took them to a place that made pizza earlier that week.

“Oh, Yuki had our cook make sliders for the Nomu Ki booth,” Fred stated, pointing them out on the other side. The booth was colorful. Bright green with brown lettering with cartoon illustrations of burgers, beer, and yakitori sticks. “And they’re selling beer and wine with novelty cups, if you want.”

“So, burgers?” Kankuro huffed, sticking his hands in his pockets.

“And a beer for me,” Fred added. She pointed to Cordi and asked, “What about you, Cordi? You want a beer?”

Cordi shook her head with a disgusted grimace. “Uck. You know I hate beer.” She chewed on the inside of her cheek as she pondered her drink choices, then said, “I’d say white wine, but Temari said the cut off age here is eighteen, which leaves me a couple months short. So, I’ll go with water or iced tea.”

Kankuro picked up Fred’s Shukaku plush, holding it out to her as he repeated, “Alright, so burgers, beer, and water.”

Fred nodded, jutting her head over to where a lot of tables had been set up, edging along where people were dancing. “We’ll grab a table then,” she offered. She stepped over to him, taking her Shukaku back. Her hand brushed his, and she felt butterflies flutter in her stomach. She averted her gaze from his. This was so stupid. She was crushing on a man she just met. And yes, this was a crush. The last time she felt like this was Travis, and she’d let her nerves get the better of her. But she refused to do that this time. She could flip the script on him, and maybe her heart would quit this sudden bewitchment it seemed to have found itself under his gaze.

Gaara and Kankuro left to get their dinner while Cordi and Fred found a table to settle in. Fred looked back to the boys for a second, then back to the table with a smile that made Cordi suspicious. “So, what’s Kankuro’s story?” Fred asked, doing her best to sound nonchalant.

Cordi frowned at her as if she was the mind-reader and not Lynne. “No.”

“What?”

“You are _not_ interested in Kankuro.”

“I mean, he looks kind of cute,” Fred confessed, looking back at him. Cute was an understatement. He had an incredibly attractive bone structure, she could tell. And something in the way he carried himself told her there was more to him. This was probably just lust in its purest form, but it was burning through her. Gaara looked their way, and she quickly turned back. She shrugged as she added, “Minus the makeup.”

Cordi laughed, shaking her head, “Wow.”

“What?”

“It’s just …” Cordi trailed off before laughing, “wow,” again.

Fred scowled, then said, “Excuse me for saying a guy is cute. It’s not like I said I wanted to marry him.” She crossed her arms as she pouted, “It’s also not like he’s sticking around for a date or anything. I was just curious.”

“Sorry,” Cordi replied, waving a dismissing hand. “It’s just Kankuro isn’t really boyfriend material.”

“I wasn’t asking if he was,” Fred remarked. “I was simply asking if anyone had dibs or bets for his dating life.” Dibs was a rule they had instituted among their group a long time ago when a previous member started getting territorial about who liked what character. That member didn’t stick around their group, but the rule stayed.

Cordi laughed, “Hell no. He’s not any of our types.”

Fred raised an eyebrow at that. “Really?” she asked, looking back at him. “But he’s hot.” Cordi looked at her friend wide eyed, her jaw dropped slightly at Fred’s confession. “What?” Fred scoffed, turning back to ogle the puppeteer. “You can’t tell me you didn’t notice he’s got some nice glutes.”

Cordi laughed. “I hadn’t noticed,” she stated. She picked at a fingernail as she replied, “Honestly, I’m more of a shoulders, chest, and abs girl myself, if we’re objectifying men.”

Fred frowned at her friend, then nodded, “Explains a lot.” She sighed as she looked at the brothers who were now making their orders. “It’s just this has turned into a weird double date thing, since you have dibs on Gaara …”

“Which I’m not pursuing,” Cordi quickly clarified defensively, holding up a reprimanding finger, “because he’s got a girlfriend.” She muttered more to herself, “Whether it lasts is a whole other thing.”

“Well, if it’s not going to last, you should go for it,” Fred stated shooting her friend a weird look. Sometimes the Turners’ let their nobility or sense of honor get them in trouble. It was stupid to let it happen with their relationships.

Cordi just shook her head. “I’d rather be his friend than the girl who ruined his relationship.”

Fred sighed, “Your choice.” She looked back at the guys. Kankuro held two novelty cups, sipping from one, while Gaara held two water bottles. Both were chatting away about something. “Anyway, it’s been a long time for me,” she added, turning back to Cordi with a pensive frown. “And I know from those videos that the guy I marry is probably married to his first wife now, trying for his daughter. So, I’m not looking for anything serious either.” She fiddled with her plushie’s ear as she added, “I just want to have a fun night, and know I’m not stepping on anyone’s toes.”

Cordi blinked at her, slightly judgmental as she replied, “And by fun night, you mean sex.”

“I didn’t say that,” Fred scoffed, frowning at Cordi. “Mostly some dirty dancing and drinking.”

Cordi rolled her eyes. “Yeah right.”

“I mean it,” Fred growled. “I’m not like Ronnie. I wouldn’t sleep with a guy I just met.”

Cordi scoffed as if she knew she were lying. “I’ll bet you fifty bucks you sleep with him tonight.”

“Ew, no,” Fred huffed.

Cordi nodded knowingly, then muttered, “Whatever you say.”

“I do say,” Fred stated resolutely. There was a pregnant pause between them, then asked, “So am I stepping on anyone’s toes?”

“Well,” Cordi chirped, pursing her lips as she thought the situation over, “according to Lynne, he’s got a friends with benefits thing going on back home. But I don’t think it’s exclusive.”

Fred raised an eyebrow at that, shooting a glance at the puppeteer as the men grabbed the food. “Non-exclusive is good.” She smirked at Cordi and asked, “Care to be my wingwoman tonight?”

Cordi closed her eyes and smiled. “Not sure how well I’ll do, but I’ll try my best.”

Fred grinned at her. “I’m sure you’ll do fine.” But as the men drew closer to the table, she began twirling her hair a little. Cordi scoffed again at Fred’s character flip. Fred was like Ronnie. Whenever a Buchanan set their sights on a guy, they pulled out all the stops. Those girls were masters of the art of seduction.

The brothers returned with their food. “Here’s your beer,” Kankuro stated, placing the novelty cup in front of her.

“Thank you, my dear,” Fred replied cheerily, pulling her hand away from her hair, down her neck to grab the glass.

The puppeteer gave her a strange look as Gaara set the basket of sliders and yakitori in the center of the table, then handed Cordi her bottle of water, which she grabbed with a small, “Thank you.” “’My dear’?” Kankuro asked, placing a hand at the edge of the table, and leaning over Fred, a mix between playful and threatening.

Fred jokingly looked up in thought as she airily replied, “I thought it was better than ‘Sucker.’”

Kankuro eyed her carefully, giving a small nod. “You’re funny,” he remarked with an annoyed sneer. “But I’ll get you back by the end of the night. Mark my words.”

Fred smirked at him with a challenging glimmer in her eyes. “I look forward to it,” she replied barely above a husky whisper.

Gaara sat in the seat next to Cordi, since Kankuro was leaning over the other one, and dug into his sticks of meat. Cordi reached for her first slider and took a bite, letting out an involuntary moan as it hit her tongue. Everyone shot her curious looks. She chewed and swallowed, muttering a small, “Sorry. It’s just so good.” She took another bite, and let out another moan.

Gaara chuckled and took a bite of his yakitori, then nodded, “That is good.”

Fred reached for her first slider, commenting, “It does sound orgasmic.” Kankuro let out a choked laugh at the comment, picking up his beer to take a sip to hide his grin, while Gaara just looked at her in wide-eyed disbelief. She took her first bite, and let out a moan like Cordi. “Damn,” she sighed. “That’s good.”

“I know. Right?” Cordi giggled through her second to last bite.

Kankuro cleared his throat, looking at the two of them as he placed his beer back on the table and grabbing some yakitori. “So,” he started with a smile, “What were you two talking about while we went to go get the food? Gaara said he noticed you both looking at us.”

Both Fred and Cordi shook their heads and replied, “Nothing.”

Cordi was blushing, knowing they’d been caught, and added quickly, “Just girl talk.” She took a sip of water to prevent him asking her anymore questions.

Kankuro raised his eyebrows at that. “And what exactly does, ‘girl talk,’ entail?”

Fred shot him a sly look. “You really want to know?” Kankuro nodded interestedly. “Because girl talk can have varying topics from gossip, to hair care products, to even relationship advice and interesting sexual experiences.”

Cordi choked and spat out her water. She grabbed a napkin and put it over her mouth, knowing her face was about as red as a tomato. She chanced a glance at Gaara and noticed he was looking at a point at the table, his eyes wide and his cheeks going very red. Kankuro just looked at Fred with a stunned expression, his eyebrows high as he blinked a few times.

Fred shrugged as if not noticing anybody’s discomfort, and continued. “But this time, we were talking about my uncanny ability to attract men who can’t flirt,” she lied with an easy smile. She sighed as she added, “It’s always just one of those cheesy one-liners that you can’t reward its use.” She shot a smirk at Kankuro and said, “You’ve probably used some. Cordi mentioned that you’re a bit of a playboy.” Fred smiled cleverly at Cordi, shooting her a wink, then back at Kankuro.

Cordi blanched, her gaze shifting between the brothers. Kankuro didn’t even look at her, his dark eyes trained on Winifred, but Gaara was eyeing her appraisingly. “Wha-? N-no,” Cordi tried, her hands raised in surrender.

“It’s inevitable, working in a bar now. So, I am curious,” Fred said turning square to look at the puppeteer. “Are the lines to pick up girls as bad here as they are back home?”

Kankuro narrowed his gaze at Fred, clearly assessing her. He shifted in his chair closer to her, almost to the edge. “Are you asking me to pick you up?” he asked daringly.

Fred laughed, showing her perfect pearl teeth. “No, I’m asking for you to provide a sample of this world’s bullshit pickup lines, so I know what I’m in for.”

Cordi began to eat again as well, until she frowned eyeing Fred and the puppeteer. The way they looked at each other. The chemistry was palpable. By God, it was working. Kankuro smirked right back at Fred as he said, “Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but I don’t use lines. Usually, I just get girls.” He added the last bit with a nonchalant shrug.

“Oh, come on.”

“No. But now I’m curious about the ones you’ve heard,” Kankuro offered, sitting down on the edge of the seat closest to her.

She pursed her lips as she looked up in thought. “There’ve been some really bad ones. Like ‘Did it hurt?’”

He ticked his head to the side as he asked, “Hurt?”

“’When you fell from heaven,’” Fred finished with a smirk.

Kankuro laughed and let out a whistle. “That one’s bad.”

“It’s not even the worst one,” Fred laughed.

Kankuro raised his eyebrows at that, and his chin rested on his knuckle. “Oh, please, tell me.”

She was grinning victoriously as she leaned in, resting her chin on her knuckle, mirroring him. Her verdant eyes leveled on his black ones, her lashes batting a little as she said, “Do you have a map? I seem to have gotten lost in your eyes.”

He closed his eyes in shame. “Wow,” he breathed, dropping his hand as he coughed out a laugh. He opened his eyes and looked directly at Fred’s eyes, and said, “Well, they are very pretty,” he confessed, trying hard not smile too much.

“Oh!” she laughed, as she commented, “So, you don’t use lines. You just piggyback off bad ones.”

“No, I’m just stating a fact,” Kankuro replied with a chuckle.

She batted her eyelashes again as she rolled her eyes and said, “Well, thank you.” She dropped her hand, landing on his before she pulled it back, muttering a small, “Sorry. I didn’t realize how big your hands were.” She absently traced the pad of her finger along the length of his hand.

He raised an eyebrow at her as he laughed, “Excuse me, was that a line?”

She shot him a smirk as she added, “Just stating a fact.” She tapped her finger against the table, daring him to contradict her.

Kankuro tongued the inside of his cheek as he chuckled, “Of course,” Kankuro laughed, showing his own pearly teeth as he watched his own hand flex against the table.

Gaara’s eyes flicked between Kankuro and Fred as he frowned, clearly picking up on something. He looked to Cordi for a moment who shook her head at her friend as she muttered, “Oh my God,” under her breath. He frowned, realizing he missed something in the conversation while he was eating. He’d stopped listening after the conversation took an awkward turn to Kankuro’s recreational activities.

Fred bit her lower lip as she watched Kankuro pick up his yakitori stick and take a bite of steak, then looked to the dancing area. It was full of couples dancing, twirling and spinning to the music. She let out a longing hiss, then said, “I want to dance.” She placed her hand on Kankuro’s and said, “Come on.” She more ordered than suggested it as she stood and walked to the dance floor.

Kankuro’s head swiveled as he watched her sashay away, and then lifted the stick of meat to his mouth and cleaned it with a swift movement. He dropped the stick next to his second loaded stick as he grunted, “Yup,” as he stood. Then with quick steps, joined Fred on the dancefloor.

Gaara blinked at his brother dancing with Fred further and further into the crowd. “Did I miss something?” he breathed.

Cordi just scoffed as she watched them dance. “Wow,” she laughed shaking her head. “Just, wow.” She’d done it. Winifred Buchanan had the puppeteer in her clutches in a matter of minutes. “Good job, Fred,” she laughed to herself.

“What’s going on?” Gaara asked, looking at the fire user nervously.

“Oh, nothing,” Cordi laughed, swiveling back to her food. “Kankuro’s just getting some action tonight, is all.” Gaara frowned at the turn of phrase. Cordi eyed him a little strangely, then clarified, “You know, get laid?”

“What? Really?” His voice was high and childish as he asked it. He hated when that happened. But how did she know this? What did he miss in that conversation?

She bobbed her head with a shrug as she stated, “I mean, Fred said ‘No,’ but I’ve always had a sixth sense for when people are going to get laid,” as she reached for her water bottle. She sipped her water, ignoring the Kazekage’s wide-eyed gaze on her as she added, “So, I’d say there’s a good chance.” She looked at Gaara with a frown, then asked, “You really didn’t notice?”

Gaara shook his head, blinking worriedly at her.

“She got him to flirt with her, now their dancing,” Cordi explained, pointing at them as Fred swayed with Kankuro, her hips swishing in figure eights. Kankuro’s eyes were trained on the Earth vixen in front of him.

Gaara could only blink as he watched his brother. “But he said he didn’t like her,” he stated, still not sure what was happening. Kankuro had been griping about the girls’ victory while they were in line for the food. Gaara had to tell him multiple times to stop before they brought the food to the table, and that he was being a sore loser.

Cordi laughed. “That doesn’t mean anything in this situation.”

“What?” Again, his voice was high.

Cordi leaned on the table closer to him as she licked her lips and clarified, “A man and woman don’t have to like each other to be attracted to one another.”

Gaara pursed his lips as he thought about that. He thought that Kankuro had some friendly regard for all the women he slept with. Was that not the case?

“Well, Fred was right,” Cordi sighed, running her fingers through her hair. “This did become some weird double date.” Gaara frowned at the comment. _A date? This is a date?_ But his girlfriend was Matsuri, and that meant he only went on dates with her, right? Or at least that he should only be going on dates with her. “So, rather than being relegated to third wheels, do you want to go dance?” Cordi asked, her brow furrowed and her smile friendly, as if she was just as confused and trying to make the best out of a weird situation.

Gaara looked at the dancers. Most of them were smiling and laughing, including Kankuro and Fred. But Gaara knew as soon as he’d stepped up, he’d become too self-conscious to move. He’d look like a fool. He couldn’t dance. He grimaced as he remembered he had a girlfriend. He couldn’t be dancing with another girl anyway, or be alone on a date with one either. “No,” he said quickly.

“Oh,” Cordi chirped a little awkwardly, pursing her lips at the rejection. She chewed the inside of her cheek as she asked, “Then how about another game?”

“I’m sorry,” Gaara said quickly, standing up. He could not be on a date with another girl. “I have to go. I have some correspondence to catch up on.” Hastily, he made his retreat. He had asked for a meeting after the festival with Kakashi anyway. He didn’t have time to be on a date with a girl who wasn’t his girlfriend.

Cordi sat at the table, watching his retreating figure and wondered what she’d said that made him act so weird all of a sudden. She drank her water, and looked at the food, suddenly not as hungry as she once was.

Kankuro and Fred came back to the table all smiles as the song died out. Fred’s face fell a little as she saw Cordi sitting at the table alone, and asked, “Where’d ginger go?”

Cordi scratched the back of her neck and forced an easy smile as she replied, “Uh, Gaara said he had to catch up on some stuff.” She made a weird face, as if throwing a stray thought away, then added, “I think I’m going to head back too. Uhm, you two have fun.”

Fred jumped up and called, “Cordi?”

Cordi turned, the same force smile as before. “Yeah?”

“Uhm,” Fred murmured, then touched her giant plushie. “Can you take Niko back for me? I think Kankuro and I are going to dance some more before calling it a night.”

Cordi nodded with a shrug. “Yeah, sure.” She grabbed the Shukaku plushie, and swung him over her back and made her way out of the festival.

*~*~*

“I’m serious,” Rox laughed as she walked with Shikamaru through the festival, their hands clasped as the made their way. She was animatedly telling him another story of her life. This one was about a water gun fight she and Cordi won at their house. “We snuck up to my Dad’s office, which had a window with a great access to a roof that was perfect for sniping. So while everyone was running around the front yard shooting each other with water, Cordi and I were popping out the screen on the window and climbing on the roof to soak everyone. And because we were too high up, none of the other kids could shoot us back.”

Shikamaru laughed. “That sounds like a good strategy,” he commended.

Rox smiled, knowing that was high praise from him. She squeezed his hand as she asked, “Why don’t you tell me a story about yourself? Something I don’t know.”

Shikamaru quirked his head as he said, “I thought you said you all knew everything about us.”

Rox shrugged, “We know the important stuff. But what’s something that makes you smile?”

He looked up in thought, then said, “What about my first mission as a genin?”

Rox smiled as she explained, “I actually don’t know that. While you were drawn at the academy, team ten wasn’t really introduced until the chunin exams.”

He raised his eyebrows at that. “You don’t know about my first mission,” he said with a pleasant smile. “That’s a good story.” He scratched at his lower lip in thought. “Where to begin. Well, we’d only just been genin a day, and we were sent out to guard an artist’s artwork while in transport to a noble’s house. It was a relatively easy mission. Babysitting pretty much for a few hours walk. But as soon as the artist saw us, the first thing he said was, ‘They’re kids.’ We were eleven, so yeah, kids.” He scratched under his ponytail as he laughed about it in retrospect.

“Of course, Asuma gave him the same spiel whenever a client asks about getting a team of genin.” Roxanne frowned at that, and Shikamaru smirked, as he clarified, “That genin were usually younger ninja, and adults were usually jonin, and exponentially more expensive. The artist was quick to say that it was fine, but that it was probably best that we genin were kept away from his wagon of artwork.

“Of course that made Choji and I curious what was in the wagon, and we tried to sneak a peek, but Asuma taught us the valuable lesson of being a ninja, that if a client wished for the contents of something to remain classified, then going against that can have disastrous consequences, least of which is not getting paid.” Shikamaru lifted his finger with a smirk as he said, “It was at that moment, the artist confessed that he was going to pay us for our valuable work regardless. But the artist’s commission was for a rather eccentric lord, and the subject matter of the piece being transported wasn’t appropriate for children.”

Rox blanched, looking at his smiling face as she asked, “Oh, lord. What was it?”

“I’m getting to it,” Shikamaru laughed. He cleared his throat as he continued, “So, we get to the lord’s house, and we see immediately what the artist meant by, ‘eccentric.’ The lord had many paintings and statues on display. Most of the paintings were of the lord himself as different legendary figures. So the lord comes out to meet the artist in the gallery, and demands to see it. The artist tried to convince him to view it in private, but the lord was adamant. So, the artist pulls out this painting …” Shikamaru tongued his cheek, doing his best to keep from laughing at his own story. “And the lord had commissioned the artist to paint the Seduction of the Moon Goddess, with the lord’s new wife as the moon goddess, who we now know as Kaguya, and the lord as Kaguya’s lover, who was an ancient vassal.” He pursed his lips as he finished, “It was rather graphic.”

Rox looked at him pityingly, and said, “I’d ask graphic on a scale of Titian to Bosch, but you wouldn’t know what I was talking about.”

He narrowed his gaze, and said, “If they’re painters from your world, whichever one would paint a couple having sex with nothing left to the imagination.”

Rox pursed her lips, then asked, “Was it normal sex, or were there kinks involved?” Shikamaru only answered with a wide-eyed stunned expression. Rox laughed. “Judging by that reaction, I’d say a grade or two less graphic than Bosch.” He still looked slightly horrified, and Rox chuckled, “Hieronymus Bosch was a fifteenth century artist in my world, who created The Garden of Earthly Delights, which is a triptych with the middle print graphically depicting not only orgies, but other insane kinks.” She waved it off, saying, “We had to study his work in my Art History class in high school.”

Shikamaru cleared his throat with a laugh as he said, “Anyway, on the way back, there were clearly questions about what we saw in the painting, which Asuma did his best fielding. But at some point Ino confessed to walking in on her parents one time, and because they’d explained what it was to her, she knew. So Asuma was forced to tell us, or we were getting the information from Ino, however inaccurate. When we got home, Asuma had to explain what happened on the mission to our parents, who were pissed, understandably. So, yeah. That was my first mission.”

Rox smiled with him. “So, did your parents have to give you the talk when you got home?”

“Uh, yeah,” Shikamaru laughed again, scratching his head under his ponytail at the memory. “My Dad sat me down once I got home, and gave me the talk in detail. Maybe too much detail.”

Rox smirked. “Probably wasn’t as bad as what happened to me and my siblings.” Shikamaru frowned as Rox began to recount the story of their church youth group having a rowdy camping trip, then the church asking her grandfather, a sex education teacher, to talk to the kids in the youth group. Shikamaru shook his head with disbelief as she recounted the story.

They paused, their hands swinging together as they slowed to a stop. Shikamaru pursed his lips as he looked around them, then jutted his head towards a game booth. “Why don’t we play a game?”

Rox made a face that was half a smile and half doubting as she replied, “With how smart you are and not to mention a jonin, I’m not sure I would have a chance at winning any of these games against you.”

“It’s a ring toss,” Shikamaru stated, pointing to the booth, pulling her a little with a lean.

She looked at the booth carefully, noting it was a game where you threw a light ring around rubber ducks floating in water. She smiled. “Alright,” she acquiesced, allowing herself be pulled to the ring toss. Shikamaru paid for their rings, and they began to toss. Shikamaru, trying to show off, threw his three rings at once, and caught three ducks. The vendor revealed the bottoms for the prizes, and while two were blank, one was green, meaning he’d won a small prize, which he picked out the antler headband and insisted on wearing. But when the vendor revealed the second of Shikamaru’s ducks, he accidentally flipped one that Rox caught a flash of gold underneath, meaning a grand prize. She wasn’t sure if Shikamaru caught it as well, but Rox’s eyes never left that duck.

“Your turn,” Shikamaru sighed, smiling with his ridiculous antler headband as he turned to watch Rox make her throws.

Rox chewed her lip, still watching that duck as she reached for her first ring and took aim. She threw the first one, and it bounced off the duck next to it and ringed another. She huffed as the vendor took that one out showing her it was a green, and she lined up her next shot. That one was just over and ringed a duck in the middle of the clump. The vendor also pulled that one out for her, and it was a plain. She let out a breath, focusing hard on the golden duck.

“You’ve gotten so serious,” Shikamaru laughed.

“Sh!” she hissed, still lining up her shot. She tossed the ring, but the duck moved left of where it had been. She knew it was cheating, but with a slight close of her hand, she summoned a small gust that blew through the festival that hit the bottom of the ring, lifting and flipping it onto the golden duck.

Rox pumped her fist and let out a small, “YES!” Which caused Shikamaru to raise an eyebrow.

The vendor pulled it out, and wide-eyed commented, “Well, that was lucky. You won the grand prize as well.” He stood, reaching for the gift cards and fanned them out for her. There was one for a clothes boutique, and two for different restaurants around Konoha, and two for a general store. She pulled out the Ichiraku gift card, then pointed to the antler headband for her green prize.

She held up the Ichiraku gift card to him, and said, “I guess next date’s on me.”

“I’d say so,” he said with a smile. Shikamaru gave her a flirtatious smirk as she put on her antler headband. “Did you get those for my benefit?” he asked, pointing at her antlers.

She shrugged, replying, “You say that like only your family has ties to deer.”

He raised an eyebrow at her curiously. “Well, my name means deer.”

“So does mine,” she replied plainly. He frowned, a little surprised by her answer. “Well, my middle name,” she clarified. “My full name is Roxanne Hart Turner. Hart where I’m from is an old word for ‘stag.’” She bobbled her head as she continued to explain, “It was my mom’s maiden name. Roxanne means ‘radiant,’ so my full name means ‘radiant stag,’ if you want to get particular.”

He laughed, as if amused by a thought. “So, … we’re just a couple of deer?”

Roxanne chuckled with him, “I guess we are.”

He offered his arm as they walked away from the vendor, chuckling about their new discovery. She looped her arm with his again. He licked his lips before jokingly asking, “Where to next, my dear?”

She pursed her lips to hold back a smile. “Puns, my dear?” she asked, failing miserably at holding back her beaming grin.

“I don’t think puns are edible, my dear,” he joked back, his face straight. He added, pointing to himself, “And this deer is hungry.”

Rox laughed heartily, and gestured for him to lead the way. As they waited in line for food, Roxanne airily commented, “You know, with both of us named after deer, I bet if we ever had any kids, regardless what their names were, Cordi would call them Bambi.”

“How troublesome. Only three dates in, and already talking about future children,” he commented oddly.

Rox blushed crimson, realizing her faux-pas. “Oh, I didn’t mean … I-It was just a funny thought that popped in my head,” she rambled, looking at the ground, “given the conversation and our names …”

“It’s ok,” he laughed with a nudge to her shoulders, which immediately calmed her down. Shikamaru gave a curious frown before asking, “Why Bambi?”

“Just an old movie where I’m from about a deer named Bambi,” Rox clarified. She smiled reminiscently as she said, “Cordi and I loved watching it as kids.”

He shook his head as if in slight disbelief with a small sigh.

Rox pursed her lips, then added in a not so subtle segue, “I have a funny experience with deer.” Before he could say anything, she began rambling out the story about the whole flock of deer eating her family’s front lawn one night when she was learning how to drive. It earned a few laughs from Shikamaru when she imitated the deer when she turned on the highbeams. He couldn’t believe that was something deer were famous for doing in her world, in spite of the fact she claimed, “Deer caught in headlights,” was the name of an actual expression.

As they got their food and moved onto new topics while they ate, Rox couldn’t help but think dreamily, _This is the perfect date._

*~*~*

Lynne sat in her room, reading a book as she tried to forget the humiliating moment of Ronnie blabbing one of her biggest secrets in front of the Sand Siblings. Not only that, she made it sound worse than it actually was. She didn’t have sex in the sanctuary at church during a service. It was a youth group lock-in while everyone else was asleep, and she and her boyfriend snuck into the supply closet, and yes got a little handsy. The only reason her friends knew about it was because of a game of Truth or Dare, and even that was somewhat under duress. It was either answer the question asked, or drink a horrible concoction made by Fred, who had become a legend at several parties for making concoctions that would make even heartiest of stomachs turn.

She knew from her psychology classes it was better to let negative emotions out safely, and not to bottle them. But she didn’t want to cry about that betrayal yet. She was still angry. So she was bottling, doing her best to lose herself in a book, and forget about her anger.

Her book of choice was The Hunger Games. One of her classmates in her history class last semester mentioned it as revolutionary, and was excited about the sequel. So , just before the trip she bought the two for her reading while in Maine. It was rather good so far, although she hoped when she started the Capitol wasn’t actually killing children, and there would be a plot twist at the end that revealed all the competitors lived in the Capitol after the games. But as she continued reading, she quickly began to realize that wasn’t going to happen. Katniss had just scared off the career kids with bees when Lynne heard a knock on the door.

She sighed, putting her bookmark in place and dropping the book on the bed as she swung herself around to stand up in one swift motion. She made her way to the door, and opened it only an inch to see Ronnie standing there with a pursed smile and a large tote bag on her shoulder. “What do you want?” Lynne asked guardedly, leaning the door on her shoulder to seal off any space Ronnie could wiggle through.

“I wanted to say I was jerk, and that I’m really sorry I threw that story in your face,” Ronnie replied with a guilty nod. “Cordi was right. You told that to us in confidence, and I shouldn’t have said it.”

Lynne chewed the inside of her cheek, and inhaled through her nose. She pressed the door tighter against her shoulder, and remained silent.

“Now, I know you want to be angry at me,” Ronnie continued, “and I get it. I’d want to be angry at me too. But I always find it’s best for relationships to start healing early rather than let anger fester.” Lynne scowled at this. Ronnie was using psychology against her. _Damn her._ “So, I brought over some of your favorite snacks,” Ronnie said, reaching into the tote bag on her shoulder and pulling out chocolate pocky, popcorn, chips with dip, and wine, red and white. “I spent half my allowance on this,” she added, “And some face masks and nail polish.” Lynne raised an eyebrow at all of this. Ronnie was trying really hard to get back in her good graces. Then Ronnie grinned, fishing out another thing in the tote as she said, “And the piece de resistance…” She held out a DVD triumphantly, adding some Catholic chanting ah’s like she’d pulled the holy grail out of her tote bag. When Lynne got a good look at the DVD, she realized it was in fact The Holy Grail. Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

Lynne pursed her lips to keep from smiling. It was one of her favorites. Ronnie and Fred weren’t huge fans of Monty Python, but would watch it with Rox, Cordi, and Lynne, who loved it. Cordi and Rox brought the DVDs for the trip, meaning Ronnie had asked one of them to borrow it. Likely Rox, since last week they agreed it wasn’t fair for Cordi to take all the DVDs to Suna. So she burned as many as she could on her computer, and gave Rox those. Ronnie really was trying her best.

“And if that doesn’t work, a double feature,” Ronnie added, reaching in her tote again, this time pulling out The Princess Bride.

Seeing the case made Lynne long for home. The Princess Bride was not only one of the favorites among her friends, but of her family as well. The Belfoco’s were Sicilian. They had a Boston Terrier named Vizzini. “Inconceivable,” was her father’s favorite curse.

She couldn’t help the smile that came to her face as she opened the door to let Ronnie in. Ronnie beamed back at her with a small, “Yay!”

Lynne held up a finger as she shut the door. “This doesn’t mean you’re back in my good graces, yet.”

“I know,” Ronnie chirped, setting up the food. “For that, I figured I would let you in on my deepest, darkest secret.” Lynne shot Ronnie an interested look. Ronnie let out a nervous breath, pulling on one of her digits. “I …” she bit her lip, then closed her eyes as she rattled out, “I was in a threesome.”

Lynne’s eyes flew wide as the veracity of the statement flew from Ronnie’s mind into hers. Ronnie told her anyway, but Lynne was already getting the details from Ronnie’s memories. “You know how the color-guard team goes to band camp with the band? Well, last summer, I’d gotten really close to one of the flute players, who was dating one of the trombonists. And one evening one thing led to another.”

“Really?” Lynne couldn’t help but laugh at the confession. “You didn’t share this with anyone?”

Ronnie shook her head quickly, then looked away guiltily. “There’s kind of an unspoken rule about band camp. What happens at band camp stays at band camp.” She shrugged, awkwardly biting her lip as she mumbled, “But now you know.”

Lynne blinked, still in disbelief. She shook her head as she asked, “Well, did you enjoy it?”

Ronnie shrugged. “It was an experience,” she answered. She sucked on her teeth and winced a little as she added, “But I don’t think it’s my cup of tea, you know?”

Lynne gave her an understanding smile, then pulled her into a hug. It felt like a hugging moment. “Thank you for telling me.”

Ronnie hugged her back. “I’m really sorry for being a loudmouthed idiot.”

Lynne patted her back between her shoulders as she said, “Accepted.”

Ronnie squeezed her tightly, then pulled away with a grin as she asked, “Alright, so which one of these are we watching first?”

“Princess Bride,” Lynne answered definitively. She walked over to her desk and opened her laptop, and Ronnie handed her the DVD to get started. Lynne sat on the bed under the window, digging into the pocky as Ronnie went to the kitchen and popped the popcorn. As the movie played, Lynne and Ronnie chatted, quoted movie lines, ate food, drank some wine, and applied face masks to each other’s faces.

There was another knock on the door while Valerie yelled “Humperdink!” at Miracle Max, chasing him around their small hovel. Ronnie went to answer the door. She swung it wide to see Cordi’s surprised smile. “You made up?” she asked, looking at the other girls with face masks and glasses of wine.

Ronnie turned to Lynne with a smile as Lynne replied easily, “Yeah.”

Ronnie reached over to the table and grabbed the opened red bottle of wine and asked, “Want to join us? We’ve got Princess Bride, face masks, and snacks.”

Cordi laughed. “You don’t have to twist my arm,” she remarked, stepping in past her best friend.

Lynne frowned as she took in Cordi’s general demeaner and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Cordi shook her head with a sigh as Ronnie poured her a glass of wine. She muttered a small thank you as Ronnie handed it to her, and took a sip. She rolled her lips as she swallowed, enjoying the taste. Then she filled them in on Rox leaving with Shikamaru, Temari finding out about Shikamaru dating Rox and then also leaving. She filled them in on the festival and the weird double date with Fred, Kankuro, and Gaara, finishing with Fred and Kankuro splitting off, which they were only a little surprised by. Lynne commented that if they thought about it, it made a lot of sense though. And Cordi finished with Gaara leaving her at the festival.

“Anyway,” Cordi sighed, “I came here because Fred asked me to drop off the plushie she won, and I heard you both laughing in here. So I thought I’d pop in.”

Ronnie pursed her lips, then looked to Lynne who clearly read her mind and gave an agreeing nod. Ronnie reached into her tote, and said, “I have a chamomile and lavender face mask here that I think has your name on it.” She got up, and pointed to the bed and directed, “Sit. I’ll go mix this up.”

Cordi gave an easy and thankful sigh as she said, “Thanks guys. I think this is what I really needed before going to Suna. Just hanging out with you guys.”

“With wine,” Lynne added, lifting her glass.

Cordi chuckled, clinking her glass to Lynne’s. “With wine.”

*~*~*

If someone had told Fred that tonight she’d be sneaking a man, no, one of the ninja from Naruto, back to her room with the plans of him screwing her senseless, she’d have laughed and called them insane. Actually, she had when Cordi had suggested it not three hours ago. She had two beers at the festival, and was only slightly drunk, as was he. She wasn’t exactly sure when these plans were made. Originally, she only planned to get in his head and fool around a bit. Around about their sixth or seventh song on the dancefloor, after sunset when most of the families had left, she remembered dancing with her back against his chest, and her butt against his groin as they moved with the loud beat. His hands held her torso in place against his and made her feel like lightning was coursing through her. She turned to look at him, and he kissed her. His tongue slid so easily against hers, and it stole her breath away as she felt pleasure begin to pool in her core. She was puddy in his hands as she turned to face him, clinging to him like he was her life-preserver. That had to be when the plan was made. When she broke the kiss, his purple makeup smeared on her lips as she whispered huskily, “Take me home.” She didn’t even notice or care she’d called her dorm “home.”

He held her against him, and shunshined them through the village as she gave directions back to her dorm until he landed at her door, and put her down. She saw the plushie she’d asked Cordi to drop off sitting outside her door. His hands never left her hips as she quickly moved it aside and whipped out her keys from her purse, and unlocked the door as fast as she could. As soon as she got the door open, she grabbed one of his wrists and pulled him inside and tossed the plushie and her purse inside somewhere. He shut the door behind him as she pulled him back into a kiss, just as hungry as the one on the dancefloor. She began to work on the knot at his waist as his hands roved over her body, kneading her ass cheeks like dough.

“I need to tell you,” Kankuro breathed against her lips between kisses, “this doesn’t go past tonight. I leave for Suna tomorrow and …”

“I know. Shut up,” she hissed as she freed his knot and threw the undone sash to the floor. She pulled off the kimono part of his outfit, which left him in a sleeveless navy blue turtleneck. Then his hood, revealing his dark brown hair. It wasn’t too long or too short, and it was messily perfect. Her fingers dove into his hair as she kissed him again, the pads of her fingers raking gently through his perfect hair, across his scalp. Using her leverage around his neck, she jumped up, wrapping her legs around his waist. He caught her by her ass, giving her support to hang on him as he walked her to the bed at the end of the small studio apartment. He laid her down gently before settling over her between her sprawled legs. She moaned as he pressed his hips into hers, his tongue dancing on her lips before he bit her lower lip oh so pleasurably as his hand slid up her shirt. Her hands reached for the hem of his turtleneck, pulling it up. He broke their kiss for a second to help her pull it off, and tossed it aside. Her hands immediately caressed his large pecks over his barrel chest and eight pack abs, and chewed her lower lip in longing.

He smirked at her expression, his skin jumping a little at her touch as she asked, “Do you like what you see?”

She nodded, and murmured a small, “Uh-huh.”

He grinned as he leaned back down over her. His hand returned under her shirt as his lips crashed back to hers. She shivered under his touch as his hand glided up to one of her breasts. “These,” he moaned against her lips, kneading her breast in one hand, and feeling her quiver and gasp under him “feel perfect.” He squeezed it again. “I’ve showed you mine,” he growled, looking at her cleavage longingly.

Her fingers quickly moved to unbutton her blouse. He moved to let her sit up as she pulled it off, and then she quickly undid her bra, casting both to the floor. He looked at her, his eyes sparkling with lust filled wonder. His head moved to capture one rosy nipple with his mouth, but her hand over his lips stopped him. He looked at her with frustrated curiosity, and she said with a sneering smirk, “I don’t want any purple paint on my body. So, if you want to go any further, wash your face.”

His dark gaze bore into hers, and saw she was resolute on that boundary. He got up, grabbed a rag and wet it in the sink, then rubbed it against his face, cleaning his makeup away. His dark eyes watched her the whole time as she watched him and stood from the bed, unbuttoning her jeans in a sort of strip tease, slow and sensual. These were experienced, practiced moves. He finished cleaning off his makeup as she strolled over to him, completely naked. He dropped the purple-stained rag in the sink as her fingers slid along his abs again, then traveled south, feeling his member through his pants. “I knew your hands weren’t lying about your size.”

He smirked. His hand went right back to her breast, and he thumbed over her rosy nipple, enjoying how it bounced back with every stroke. “Do you have a condom?” he asked, figuring now was the time to ask it. She was naked, and clearly ready for him.

She shook her head no, and he set his jaw, annoyed that he’d have stop when their bodies clearly wanted this so badly. “I have a birth control implant in my arm,” she stated, still petting his dick through his pants. “I’m good for three or four years. So, unless you have any STDs you’re worried about, we don’t need one.”

“No, none,” he stated. He took a bracing breath as his heart pounded with trepidation. He didn’t need one? That was a first. His already hard dick got harder at the thought. His lips crashed against hers again with a bruising kiss, and her fingers pulled at his waistband until his pants dropped to his ankles, and he kicked them off with his shoes.

He picked her up and placed her on the counter, which was the perfect height for him. She held her arms around his neck and shoulders to hold herself in place for him and wrapped her legs around his waist. He licked the pad of his finger then used it to feel her ready sex, sliding his finger down then into her opening, and she let out a moan as he stroked her insides. She was dripping for him. He removed his finger from her with a swirl, then dragged his finger up to the little bead he’d long learned to excite, giving it a swirl, which caused her breath to hitch and her green eyes to fly open wide like she’d never been touched there before. He smirked, as he thought, _She’s in for a treat._ He switched his finger with his thumb, which was easier on his wrist while he had his way with her. He aimed his dick at her entrance as his thumb rubbed small circles. Then he pushed in, slowly, and she let out a pleasured gasp.

She chewed her lip as if with a small wince as he finished pushing in, feeling her stretching. “Are you ok?” he asked, wanting desperately to move, but refusing until the only thing in her expression was pleasure.

“You’re just the biggest one I’ve had,” she breathed, adjusting her hips around him, which shot pleasure up his spine.

He smirked. “There’s no need for flattery. I’m already inside you.”

Fred laughed as she kissed him. “Just a fact,” she stated as she ground against his hips and hand. He growled his pleasure at the sensation, sealing her lips against his as he began to slip out, then back in, at a slow, steady pace that picked up the more she moved against him and panted against his mouth. It was surreal how it felt without the usual condom dulling his feeling. Like this was how sex was meant to be experienced. She ground back against him as her head rolled back, her eyes screwed shut, and she grit her teeth. He could feel her tensing around his member, and realized she was getting close. He picked up his pace as her mouth hung open, and her panting moans became throatier. Her eyes opened and a smile ghosted her lips.

But she didn’t go. He could tell. But suddenly it was too late to slow down. Something clicked in his brain that pushed him to reach his completion. “Shit,” he hissed as he moved faster until he spilled into her, his essence warm as it pooled in her. He slowed to a stop as he huffed from the exertion.

She pulled his face to hers, giving him another kiss, deep and caring. “Thank you,” she said, dropping her legs from his hips to his legs.

He shook his head with a scowl. “No,” he huffed through gritted teeth, pulling out with caution and untangling himself from her grasp. “You didn’t go. I have a track record to uphold.”

Fred laughed. “A track record?”

“I’ve never left a woman unsatisfied,” Kankuro answered pointedly. He made a bob of his head as he pursed his lips and added, “It’s a point of pride for me.”

She looked at him weirdly. “I went,” she lied.

Kankuro shook his head with a frown, “No, you didn’t.”

“And how would you know?”

“Because I do.”

“Yeah, right,” Fred scoffed, rolling her eyes as she pushed him away, sliding down from the counter. “Given most guys can’t tell when a woman orgasms,” she argued as she walked around him, grabbing the rag from the sink as she looked at the mirror and cleaned off the purple paint already on her face from before he cleaned up, “I doubt you’re an exception.”

“I can tell,” Kankuro stated as he sidled up to her, looking at her through the mirror. “There’s always a tell. Maybe she doesn’t glow right. Her skin isn’t flushed. Or her eyes don’t shine like her brain has just short circuited. You can still touch her after without her twitching.” The last one he noted by sliding his hand through her southern curls without her moving away or jumping. “A girl who’s just climaxed feels every touch ten times over, so every touch feels like a live wire.” He kissed her shoulder as he added, “Plus, a girl who’s just climaxed needs a minute to walk or stand.”

She frowned, her eyes connecting with his dark, accusing eyes through the mirror. She dropped the rag with a small pout. “Alright, fine. I’ve never had an orgasm,” she confessed, putting her hands up. “None of my boyfriends noticed. They had sex with me multiple times. Then you after one time …”

He smirked, cutting her off, “I’m a ninja. Being that level of observant a lot of the times means life or death.” He moved his hand to her hip as his thumb rubbed circles into her skin. “You opened your eyes before you got there,” he said, his gaze roving over her body appreciatively. “You took yourself out of it.”

She scoffed. “And why would I do that?”

“I read body language, not minds,” he laughed, his thumbs still rubbing lazy circles in her skin. “You aren’t the first woman I’ve had to take out of her head, though. One girl I banged thought her face at climax was ugly.” His eyes found hers again, his thumb continuing its movements as he said, “Just give me a minute and a glass of water, and I’ll make sure your satisfied.”

She laughed, and shook her head in disbelief, going back to cleaning the last of the purple paint off her face.

“Trust me,” he said, the pads of his fingers digging into her hip. She looked up, and something in his eyes told her to do just that. He stepped away from her, grabbing a cup from one of the shelves and filled it from the tap. “So,” he asked taking a quick sip, “out of curiosity, how many boyfriends?”

“Total? Or that I’ve had sex with?” she asked, dropping the rag in the sink. She reached up for another glass, which he grabbed for her. “Thank you,” she said quietly, turning to fill the glass from the tap.

“I was asking slept with, but you can answer both,” he stated, taking another sip.

“I’ve dated five guys total, but I only slept with the last two,” she answered. She shrugged as she added, “You make three.” She pursed her lips as she looked him over, then asked, “Do I even want to know your number?”

Kankuro smirked. “I never had a girlfriend per say, but I’ve had sex with six women …” He paused as he gestured to her, adding, “you make seven.”

Fred nodded with an impressed expression. “Seven. Not bad.”

Kankuro laughed. “Not bad?”

“It could be higher,” she commented nonchalantly. She fingered the rim of her glass, chewing the inside of her cheek before asking, “Did you ever love any of them?”

Kankuro looked up, clearly pondering the answer of that question. “One of them, maybe. The second one, Akari. I had been in love with her since the academy.” He smiled at the innocent memory.

“What happened?” Fred asked, knowing it didn’t end well.

“She had a boyfriend she’d been in love with for longer,” Kankuro answered, his expression bittersweet. “After the war, they broke up for a couple months. He wasn’t ready to settle down when she asked, and she hooked up with me a few times in those months.” He chewed the inside of his cheek and fingered his glass. He cleared his throat as he said, “There were a few moments when I thought that was it. That we were going to be together forever. But after a couple months, her boyfriend came back ready to marry her.” He shrugged, taking another sip as finished, “Anyway, she’s married now with a bouncing baby boy, and another one on the way.”

He let the silence hang for a minute between them. “I’m sorry,” Fred said, nudging his shoulder.

He rolled his eyes as he replied, “It’s whatever.” His dark eyes shifted to her, looking at her appraisingly. “What about you? Were you in love with either of the boys you slept with?”

Fred nodded. “The first, Aaron. He was one of those on again, off again relationships since we were thirteen. We decided to wait until we were legal to have sex.”

“Wait until you were legal?” Kankuro asked. The way she said was kind of confusing.

She laughed, “In our world, it’s illegal to have sex with someone under eighteen. It’s considered rape.”

Kankuro whistled, and said, “Glad that’s not the law here.” Fred looked at him weirdly. He made an awkward face, “There’s a girl back home I’ve fucked a couple times. She only just turned eighteen in June.”

Fred blinked at him. “Wow.”

“What?”

“Just, wow,” she laughed. He scowled at her, and she asked, “How old are you?”

He shrugged. “Turned twenty-two in May.”

She frowned, muttering, “Depending on the state, you _might_ have been ok. But still.”

He rolled his eyes, and replied, “Well, here it was consensual. Under sixteen is the problematic age. At sixteen, a ninja fights on the front lines in a war, and is therefore seen as a full-fledged adult for the most part, minus the alcohol and gambling laws.” He paused with an odd bob of his head before adding, “And brothels. Those are eighteen.” He shrugged as he finished, “But most people are married by twenty, so having sex at sixteen is not uncommon.”

She looked at him weirdly, then shook her head and continued, “Anyway, Aaron and I did it a couple times before he had to go to college, then he broke up with me out of nowhere.”

“Nothing ever happens out of nowhere,” Kankuro stated pointedly.

“Oh, I know something happened,” Fred clarified. “I just don’t know what it was. He was at college at the time, while I was back home. So if I had to guess, he started seeing another girl and dropped me.”

Kankuro pursed his lips sympathetically. “I’m sorry.”

She nodded emptily, then added, “Second guy, Dallas, was a dick. Great for a rebound, but complete shit for brains when it came to women and emotions.” Kankuro laughed at that, and she laughed easily with him. “Breaking up with him was the easiest thing I’d ever done.”

“I bet,” Kankuro laughed, taking another gulping sip.

She inhaled deeply as she looked at him, a naked man with a well-toned body, and serious glutes that were just a beautiful as she imagined, leaning against her counter, sipping on water. This was supposed to be a one-night stand. “Your one-night stands often get this deep?” she asked.

He laughed with and another odd bob of his head. “You’d be surprised,” he replied. “People usually just want someone to talk to.”

Fred shook her head, “I wasn’t planning on talking with you tonight.”

He cut a knowing glance over to her, then placed the glass on the counter. “Are you ready?”

She looked at him challengingly. “Are you?”

“I’m not the one who needs to get out of my head,” he countered, looking at her with pursed lips.

She placed her glass on the counter and stepped over to him. She caressed his cheek and leaned her face to his, connecting her lips with his tenderly. He opened his mouth welcomingly as his tongue licked at her. Their kiss wasn’t as hungry as before, but it was still pleasant. He circled his arms around her and stood, pulling her against him. Their skin pressed with warm tingles as his hands traveled over her back. Her hands mirrored his movements, feeling his back smooth as marble.

He began to maneuver her back to the bed, laying her down. He laid over her, and began trailing kisses down her cheek, jaw, neck, then onto her chest, claiming her rosy nipple with his mouth, his tongue swirling around it as it hardened. She let out a moan as the pleasure stoked to life by his tongue shot through her, and she raked her fingers through his hair. He shifted his hips, nudging her legs to spread apart and let himself rest between them. He ground his hips into hers, enjoying the friction between them. He purred against her breast at the sensation.

Suddenly, there was a noise, and she gripped his hair tightly in a fist to stop him. His lips dropped her nipple with a smacking noise as he glared up at her, his teeth grit. With her other hand, she lifted a finger to her lips to quiet him as she listened. It was Rox’s dorm next door. She’d come home, and was settling in for the night. The walls were so thin, they could hear her running water and putting stuff away.

Her grip on his hair loosened as she whispered, “Rox is going to hear everything.”

He smirked, going back to her breast. “Then I suggest you figure out how to muffle yourself,” He stated around his mouthful. His dick, now back to full mast, rubbed against her lower lips, and smiled as she gasped at the sensation. His hands landed on her thighs, pushing them apart so he could have better access. She quivered against him as his tip trailed against the insides of her lips, and he plunged himself in. She bit her lower lip hard to hold back a groan, feeling one of his hands travel up her thigh, and his thumb settled back on her clit, starting its small circles again.

His hands and the pressure from his hips prevented her from bucking back from his ministrations, as he pulled out then back in. His lips captured hers, overriding all of her senses as he licked at her while he pumped into her. But his body connected with hers the whole way up. Her chest pressed against his helplessly as she arched her back slightly, holding herself at an angle to help him penetrate her deeper than anyone before. He was slower this time, more sensual. It was more surreal. This wasn’t the same in and out procedure she was used to with sex. Their first round had been straight fucking. But this … this was something else, but she wasn’t sure what to call it.

Her breath hitched as she became keenly aware of the tightening sensation in her core. She felt it build and build with every pump into her, every circle with his thumb, and his tongue massaging her mouth, and the feeling magnified as pressure built in her throat and skull when she choked back her moans to prevent her friends from hearing the cries she desperately wanted to howl. This feeling was new and terrifying, and exciting. It kept building and building, pushing her body into a strange, stiff position. “Kankuro?” she cried in a whisper, not sure she could stand the pressure much longer.

“Let it happen,” he breathed between kisses, not stopping at all.

Her breath hitched as her body strained, feeling it about to hit its breaking point. Her fingers that had sensually rubbing his head were fisting his hair now, and her nails dug into his back. She was panting with him now, her puffs of breath mixing with his as he bit at her lip and licked at her mouth. His grunts weren’t loud, but she could tell he was coming close to his second coming. Something exploded in her and the pressure released, ecstasy shooting through her as her head rushed from holding back her moans. Her control over her voice broke as she cried out a small, quiet, “Ah!” Her brain seized as her core spasmed, and the world around them shook

*~*~*

Gaara stood in the Konoha Summit Room looking out the window at the festival, steadily fingering the letter from the Suna Council that arrived just an hour before. He’d kept an eye on the festival waiting for his meeting, since he had deemed it safer to wait here than at the festival after Cordelia’s explanation they were on some sort of date. From his perch, he saw Naruto playing games with the Hyuga heiress, and eventually dancing closely with her. He saw a child drop his snow cone and cry, only to be cheered up by the child’s older sister handing him another one. He saw Kiba, Shino, and Choji playing one of the festival games, and laughing at their own jokes and quips. He saw the genin from Suna running around the festival and having fun with the other villages’ genin. He saw the other kage each making their way through the festival with their guards. Killer Bee stopped to talk to Naruto for a bit. The Mizukage threatened one of her new guards, it looked like. He saw Shikamaru holding hands with Cordelia’s sister as they ate funnel cake only to pause as she cleaned something off his face, both of them now wearing antlers for some reason.

Konoha was alive with shrieks of fun filled joy and music. And Gaara was above it all, doing what he did best, watching the people have fun. It was a favored past-time of his over the years, even when he had other, less acceptable hobbies. Back then, it started as more of a longing to have those moments, and being jealous of the everyday intricacies of a normal life he’d never have. Now, it was less a longing to have those moments, and more an interesting study of what people do. Watching the people go about their day and imagining their lives. Was this a night they would remember for years to come? Were they disappointed about work? Were they happy? Falling in love for the first time? He didn’t truly know any of the answers, but it was fun to imagine people in idealized lives.

As the sun sank and the stars and waxing moon took over the night sky, he looked around again, hoping to find his brother, knowing he’d essentially left him with two women, which was probably problematic, given his brother’s interests. As his gaze roved over the dancefloor, he saw his brother with Fred getting closer and closer with every move, until the last dance made Gaara uncomfortable watching with their tantric movements grinding against each other and then kissing. He grimaced at the public display and shook his head, wondering how Cordi had predicted it. _“Kankuro’s just getting some action tonight, is all._ … _Fred said ‘No,’ but I’ve always had a sixth sense for when people are going to get laid. So, I’d say there’s a good chance,”_ she’d said. All despite Kankuro calling Winifred a cheat, and grumbling about her smug expression and vowing for a rematch that would put “that smirking doxy” in her place not ten minutes before the girl convinced Kankuro to dance with her. Despite what anyone would see as clear hatred, or at least contempt, between the two, there they were kissing with a just as clear intent to sleep together.

It was Gaara’s understanding that if a man and woman engaged in such carnal activity, there had to be some feeling between them. Love of some kind. But there was no way anyone could look at Kankuro and Winifred and think them struck by love. Even now, their kissing wasn’t kind or loving. There were no loving smiles between them. No flowery words or romantic longing glances as described in the books he’d read. They’d only known each other two, maybe three hours. And they had sniped at each other most of the night. The glances they made each other’s way were appraising and judgmental. So, how did Cordi see it?

Winifred whispered something in Kankuro’s ear, and then they were gone, shunshined out of there with great haste. He pursed his lips with a small laugh. Maybe Cordelia could explain it to him if he didn’t mind it getting out that he didn’t understand human attraction or how people fell in love. He’d always assumed he’d get it one day. But now at twenty, having had a failed arranged betrothal, and a current relationship that he knew deep down was missing something, but didn’t know what, he felt no closer to understanding that part of the human psyche.

He knew he found the female form interesting and attractive. Definitely preferable to the male body. But he was never overcome with need to talk to a specific girl, except maybe when he was really little. There was a girl when he started school. Tsumugi. She was friends with all of the other kids in the class, and clearly the ringleader of the classroom. Having been sheltered his whole adolescence up to that point, Gaara was too shy to outright talk to any of the kids, especially that girl. Tsumugi was pretty, with long dirty blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail, dark brown eyes, and a cute face. At recess, the other kids played soccer, but Gaara sat on a swing on the sidelines, just watching as usual. He saw an opening to join the game and maybe talk to them, to her, when she kicked the ball so high it soared over the play-yard’s wall. Gaara brought it back down with ease with his sand into his hands. He thought the other kids would be appreciative, but they just looked terrified. When they ran, Gaara instinctively reached for them with his sand, not thinking how it would hurt them to drag them across the stone play-yard back to him. He just had to convince them, convince her, that he wasn’t dangerous. That he just wanted to play too.

He grimaced at the memory, inwardly cringing at his own social deficiency. That was when Yashamaru jumped in, he remembered. And later that evening, his uncle explained to him pain, and how medicine and ointment soothed wounds. Gaara realized he’d hurt the girl he wanted to talk to so badly, and asked Yashamaru to get him some ointment to soothe the injury he’d caused her. Yashamaru thought it was a wonderful idea, and Gaara ran the whole way to Tsumugi’s house, mentally rehearsing his apology. Surely, she’d forgive him. It was an accident. He knocked on the door, and she answered. “I’m sorry about before. It hurt, right?” He offered the bag, adding, “Here’s some ointment for you to …” She cut him off by slamming the door in his face, and growling, “Go home freak!”

He inhaled sharply, pulling himself out of the memory. There was only pain there. Whether that was what some called a crush, he didn’t know. But he did know it was the first time he truly wished he wasn’t Gaara of the Sand. He looked back outside, and noted the festival was dying down. There were a few couples still dancing and playing the games, but it was predominantly young adults out. Young lovers and singles out for a good time.

He looked at the letter, reading it over again to distract him.

_“Lord Fifth,_

_We commend your acquisition of this new asset for Sunagakure. The Council agrees with your request this information remain strictly need-to-know, and we will work with Konoha where we can in answering the questions around these girls’ arrival. This Cordelia’s abilities will need to be tested immediately, and until more answers are found about the girls’ presence, she will be given a suitable position in Suna, without grants to leave. This will be discussed in the Council meeting immediately upon your return. Given the situation with her beast, we will prepare one of the caverns at your suggestion to house it. It is being prepped as you read this, no doubt. Lord Kyoshi has agreed to lend some ninja from his family to study the beast upon arrival._

_Although, we do request you send these new assets ahead of yourself with one of your siblings before the conclusion of the Chunin Exams. Kyoshi believes a days’ worth of observation of the beast will provide crucial information to prepare for the beast’s growth, as well as set up any precautionary measures against it, should they one day decide to turn. Several of the Council members would also like to meet this Cordelia Turner for themselves to gauge her character before the meeting to see if they agree to her prospects as a shinobi._

_We know this will cause some delay on your return, as it will require the use of the rail system for your security. Please send us the departure times for your party, as well as Cordelia’s, so we know when to expect you._

_-The Suna Council._

He frowned as he reread it, wondering what it was with the Suna Council that couldn’t look at people as people rather than weapons or tools. Cordelia wasn’t a young woman in a strange new world, that wasn’t remotely peaceful like her old world, and with new powers even she didn’t understand, that was moving to their city due to overcrowding where the rest of her friends and family were. She was “an asset.” An asset to be imprisoned in Sunagakure until more was understood about the girls’ presence. Gaara pitied her. While he loved his village, he also knew it wasn’t for everybody. Unlike the other villages, Suna was sometimes cruel and calculating with its people. He’d long gotten used to the Council’s less humane way of thinking and addressing people. Only the strongest wills to survive lasted in his desert. If she was as passive as he’d seen these past couple weeks, she’d be manipulated and turned into a pawn in minutes upon her arrival. He hated knowing that was in store for her, being as innocent as she was, but it was this reality.

The door opened with a snap, and in walked Kakashi in his Hokage robes. “Hello, Lord Fifth.” Kakashi greeted, smiling amiably through his eyes. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

Gaara turned to him completely, his expression unreadable. “I needed to tell you something I’ve discovered about those girls. Something that might cause a war if not handled correctly,” he stated, his tone completely serious.

Kakashi raised his eyebrows at this, but looking more skeptical than surprised. “Something that might cause a war?” he asked, his tone laced with a hint of warning.

“Yes,” Gaara replied, still poker-faced against Kakashi’s warning. Kakashi may be thinking Gaara was threatening him, but as soon as Kakashi was made aware of the situation, he’d realize Gaara was doing his part as Konoha’s closest ally. “Cordelia Turner confessed to me last night that shortly after their arrival here, the girls each had some powers awakened.” Kakashi looked at him interestedly, gesturing for the Kazekage to sit at the conference table next to him, which Gaara did as he continued. “Temari was the first to know outside their circle, and has been training them to hone these abilities. As Cordelia explains it, each one has complete mastery of an element, similar to my control over sand. Cordelia has fire, which apparently includes electricity. Her sister, Roxanne, has wind, and has already mastered several of Temari’s jutsus. Winifred has earth, which as demonstrated today manifests similarly to the first Hokage’s powers, with abilities over metal, stone, and even plants. Veronica, or Ronnie, is water. And the last one, Lynne has what they call spirit. She’s able to read someone’s mind by looking at them.”

Kakashi set his jaw, clearly thinking about this information. He eyed Gaara coolly before asking, “And you know this information to be real?”

Gaara nodded. “Cordelia has exhibited her powers a couple times, although I wasn’t sure at first. She’s informed me enough of Lynne reading my own mind for me to believe it.” Kakashi looked alarmed at that. “Winifred this evening demonstrated her powers over metal and plants for my brother and I. And Ronnie bust a pipe in a tirade this evening as well. I feel it’s safe to assume Cordelia was not lying about the rest of what she told me.”

Kakashi sighed, reaching into his robes to grab a small notepad and pencil, writing down what Gaara just said. “I’ll need to have their chakra re-examined, then.”

“There’s no need,” Gaara corrected with a nod. “Temari had the Hyuga girl look them over again after the powers manifested. Still no chakra.”

Kakashi frowned, dropping his pencil. “Then how …?”

“My assumption is it is something from their world,” Gaara stated. “Powers that don’t manifest like chakra.” He crossed his arms as he stated, “From what Temari told me of their training, they can’t perform standard chakra abilities, like a shunshin, or clone, or walk on water or buildings for that matter. But their powers when it comes to their element are somewhat limitless.”

Kakashi looked upward, as if pleading the heavens for a break. “Great,” Kakashi grumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“It’s not all,” Gaara added carefully. Kakashi dropped his hand, looking at the young Kazekage annoyedly. “Their powers were manifested by the arrival of dragons as eggs, which then hatched.”

Kakashi scoffed, leaning back in his chair. “Now I know you’re bullshitting me.”

“I wish,” Gaara stated with a tired tone. “Last night, when Cordelia confessed all of this to me, she had me meet her at one of the gates of the Forest of Death where they’ve been hiding them for the past two weeks. She introduced me to her dragon, Aleera, worried I might attack her on the way Suna.” Kakashi frowned at the explanation, and Gaara clarified, “Attack the dragon, not Cordelia.”

Kakashi’s brow furrowed as he looked at Gaara appraisingly. “Well, if they’re only two weeks old they’re probably rather sma—”

“Aleera was the size of a small horse,” Gaara stated. Kakashi looked at him with wide eyes as Gaara crossed his arms and finished, “I can only imagine that means they might reach tailed beast size at full grown.”

Kakashi scratched his forehead as he cursed.

Gaara sighed as he added, “They’re also fast, and their strength is untested. And Aleera can fly. Which I’m guessing means the others can too.” Kakashi glowered at Gaara, sucking on his teeth under his mask as he looked away. Gaara cleared his throat as he straightened himself up. “I don’t know why you didn’t inform the other Kages about them, but…”

“I didn’t mention them at the meeting because we still have more questions than answers,” Kakashi said, cutting him off. “We don’t know what brought them here. We don’t know if they’re connected to the Otsutsuki or not. Now we don’t know the extent of their new powers, or their dragons, if what you say is true.” Gaara nodded, understanding that. _Best not to worry those not in the know if there was nothing to fix the situation, but observe and report._ Kakashi sighed, rubbing his eyes as he added, “We also don’t know how long they are here. They’ve been here two weeks, and could still go back to their world in a month, since we don’t know what brought them here.”

“About that,” Gaara frowned. “We had an encounter with a man the day of the summit. A ninja who claimed to be from Suna …” Gaara paused as pursed his lips looking at Kakashi, trying to think best how to phrase this believably. He inhaled, giving Kakashi a hard look as he added, “from the future.” Kakashi scoffed again. Gaara continued despite the Hokage’s disbelief. “He wasn’t a ninja I recognized, but his headband was standard Suna issue. He said he knew me in the future, and had sand powers, which I’ll have to look into. But he was able to get past Cordelia’s computer security, and left a note claiming to be her son from the future, and that she and her friends will be staying here well after he’s born, and won’t return home until he’s almost grown, with video evidence of them back in their world that convinced the girls of the veracity of his claim.”

“What about you?” Kakashi asked. “What do you think?”

“I think he is someone of interest, but other than that, I’m not sure,” Gaara stated. “He did say at the end of the letter to tell you to look into a Mr. Youshida for answers.”

Kakashi frowned as he watched Gaara stand up from the table. “Mr. Youshida?” he asked, his tone full of confusion. “Who the hell is that?”

Gaara shook his head. “I don’t—”

He was cut off by a few screams outside. Kakashi stood as Gaara stepped towards the window, only to stop as he felt the building begin to shake. The lights clinked and flickered as the world shook and roared. Kakashi grasped the table for stability looking around wide eyed, his black eyes connecting with Gaara’s who also looked slightly fearful at the earth moving beneath their feet. And then, just as soon as it started, it stopped.

“What was that?” Gaara asked.

Kakashi stood, grumbling, “I don’t know.” He turned to leave, gesturing for Gaara to follow as he said, “It felt like an Earthquake. But we’re nowhere near a fault line.”

Gaara followed him out, down the hallway, only to stop as Shikamaru appeared. “Shikamaru,” Kakashi breathed, slowing down. “What --?”

“The earthquake. I felt it at my house, and came here immediately to report in, but I seemed to be following the ripple,” Shikamaru explained quickly. The shadow ninja’s eyes went wide when he noticed the redheaded Kazekage standing behind Kakashi. “Gaara,” he breathed, “What are you --?”

“Lord Sixth and I had a meeting,” Gaara explained plainly. He knew Shikamaru knew about the girls’ not being of this world, but he was also fairly certain he was not yet in on the fact that they had powers or dragons at their disposal. He felt it best if Kakashi or Roxanne explained that to him.

“Oh,” Shikamaru sighed with a confused frown.

He opened his mouth to say more, but was cut off by several other ninja reporting in, including Naruto and Hinata, curious if something serious was going on. Kakashi quickly set up a sensory ninja group to identify the location of the earthquake, to see if anything disastrous had happened that needed to be rectified immediately. They were set up at a table of water over a map of Konoha, each sensory ninja holding their hands over the water to scry its location. Gaara stayed and watched, even though Kakashi suggested he go make sure his genin were ok, and his siblings. But the look Gaara gave him silenced him. He was one of two people in the room who knew of the girls’ limitless powers. Of their dragons. If this tremor was one of the dragon’s doing, they would not be able to keep the girls a secret from the other Kage anymore.

“We’ve got a location for the source of the quake,” one of the sensory ninjas called out. Kakashi stepped over as the ninja pointed his finger to the northern part of the city. “It looks like it started here at a magnitude of 5.2, then lowered to a 4.9 or 4.6 as it rippled through the city.” Kakashi crossed his arms, eerily silent at the news as he cut a knowing glance to Gaara.

Shikamaru looked at the map, then gasped, “That’s the ninja dorms Roxanne and her friends are staying in.”

Gaara closed his eyes, cursing his gut for knowing it was one of them.

Kakashi straightened, turning to the other ninja and barking orders, “Go check on the other Kage. Tell them the earthquake was naturally occurring, and should be cleared. Also explain tomorrow’s Chunin finals will be postponed a day as we assess damages.” The ninjas gave a bow, then shunshined away to carry out their orders.

Shikamaru moved, muttering, “I should check on the girls.”

“No,” Kakashi corrected. He turned to the sensory ninja and quickly said, “Thank you. You’re dismissed.”

As they left, Shikamaru frowned, watching them exit the sensory room as Kakashi looked at the table with a worried frown. “Why are we not checking on the girls, or other ninja in that building? It was the one that was hit directly,” Shikamaru asked, his brow furrowed as his light brown eyes flit between the two Kage remaining in the room.

Kakashi looked at Gaara, then back at Shikamaru, stating, “Given the meeting I just had with Lord Kazekage, I think it’s safe to say one of the girls in question just caused the earthquake.” Kakashi straightened his back before adding, “And I do believe we should know why before we rush over there.”

“What are you talking about?” Shikamaru huffed, placing a hand on his hips as he glowered at both Kage.

“Since arriving here two weeks ago, the girls have had tremendous powers awaken,” Gaara explained. “Each with complete control over an entire element.”

Shikamaru’s face went blank. “Huh?”

“Which one did you say controlled Earth, again?” Kakashi asked, turning to the young Kage.

“Winifred Buchanan,” Gaara stated, then paused wide eyed as if a piece of a puzzle clicked into place with the dawn of realization. Immediately he began to blush, looking at the ground.

Kakashi eyed the Kazekage curiously, then asked, “Which one was Winifred?”

Shikamaru shrugged, not remembering all their names. He knew which one was Rox and which one was Cordi. But the other three he wasn’t sure.

Gaara pinched the bridge of his nose as he stated, “She was the woman Kankuro left the festival with this evening.” He wasn’t sure if they knew what Kankuro was like off duty, but if they didn’t, they were about to learn.

Kakashi looked up with a sigh as he said, “Two weeks, she’s had this power and she only causes an earthquake now. Why – wait.” The hokage pointed at Gaara whose lips were pursed and eyes focused on the floor.

Shikamaru’s face fell, his wide eyes on Gaara. The shadow ninja began to laugh nervously as he asked, “Surely you’re not saying … or at least you don’t mean that they were …” Shikamaru trailed off, pursing his lips as he gestured with his fist.

Gaara didn’t answer, because it made him uncomfortable to confess exactly his brother’s involvement. But surely his blushing and refusal to make eye-contact clued them in. He looked at them for a second to see Shikamaru looking somewhere between horrified and confoundedly shocked, while Kakashi looked between them both, then started laughing. Hard. Tears gathered at his eyes as the Hokage wheezed, “Are you saying your brother fucked a girl into causing an earthquake?” When Gaara didn’t answer, Kakashi laughed harder, clutching his stomach as his body shook with the action.

Gaara bowed embarrassingly as he added, “I’m sorry for the trouble my brother has caused this evening. I’ll be sending him back to Suna early tomorrow morning with Cordelia per my Council’s orders.” He knew his blush had to have reached crimson levels, as he bowed again, excusing himself and shunshining out of the Hokage Tower.

Kakashi wiped the tears away from his eyes as he tried to calm his laughter down. “Wow,” he breathed through giggles. “Wow, wow, wow.”

Shikamaru wasn’t sure how to react to this new information, looking at the hysterical Hokage as he asked, “Sir?”

“Shikamaru,” Kakashi sniffed, calming down. “I want you to bring the other four girls staying in Konoha here first thing tomorrow morning. I also need you to contact Tsume Inuzuka, and tell her to report to me at the Forest of Death in the morning, and to bring Hana and Kiba as well.”

Shikamaru bowed, turning to leave. It was a lot to process in the moment. The girls had manifested powers, some that could be considered devastating if unchecked. Something about one of the games Roxanne played tonight stuck with him. He paused, his hand on the door before turning and asking, “Which element is Roxanne?”

“Hm?”

“Roxanne,” Shikamaru repeated. “Which element does she control?”

“Uhm, Wind,” Kakashi answered with a frown.

Shikamaru turned away, letting out a small bitter laugh. “Of course.”


	9. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I realized a little late that it’s actually Meeko, not Nico. I am fixing that in the previous chapter.

**Chapter Eight: Separate Ways**

The soft morning sunlight of a clear day and the sound of birds chirping woke Fred. It was so peaceful, drifting between that moment where soul meets body as one wakes. She was warm under the sheets, her naked body snuggled tightly against another’s on her small twin sized bed. _Kankuro,_ she remembered. She could feel every part of his body pressed against her side, including his slightly stiff member poking her hips, which she didn’t mind. His legs were entangled with hers. His arm draped over her torso as his hand rest on her left breast. His other arm under her pillow and around her shoulders, preventing her from falling off what little space left of the bed. Almost as if he’d slept in such a tight position before. His breath puffed on her shoulder and chest with his soft snores. Her right arm wrapped around his shoulders and back moved slowly up as her hand moved into his hair, rubbing his scalp softly as she turned to look at him sleeping. He looked innocent, almost boyish, and her heart fluttered at the thought. He began to smile, letting out a small groan, as her fingers traced circles in his scalp. She didn’t want to wake him up, but at the same time she was tempted to push him for another round if possible. Through the walls next door in Rox’s dorm, Fred could hear Rox getting up and starting her shower. Fred’s gaze flicked to the tree outside her window where two finches chirped at each other, hopping from branch to branch. _Yes,_ she thought, still twirling lazy circles in Kankuro’s hair as she watched the birds, _this is the perfect way to wake up._

The moment was immediately ruined by a loud knock on her door. She bolted upright as she cursed, flinging Kankuro off her, who yelped at the sudden movement, as she checked the clock. She frowned seeing it was only seven thirty.

“What the Hell, Fr—” Kankuro grumbled sitting up, only to be cut off as Fred slapped her hand over his mouth as another knock rang through the apartment. Kankuro looked at her as if she’d gone crazy, and lifted his hand to her wrist as he huffed.

Her fingers dug into his cheeks, refusing to move her hand away as a man on the other side of the door called, “Come on, Fred. Open up.”

“Uh, just a minute!” she called back, trying to sound unfazed by the sudden intrusion. She glared at Kankuro, pointing to the small room at the foot of the bed, and hissed at him, “Get in the bathroom.”

He raised an eyebrow at her, looking at her as if she’d truly gone insane. She dropped her hand from his mouth, grabbing him by the wrist with freakish strength as she heaved him from the bed to stand. He lifted his hands in surrender. “Are you always this feisty in the morning?” he asked.

Another knock sounded and she snapped back, “JUST A MINUTE!” She began pushing him, but Kankuro didn’t move, finding this all very amusing. “Move your ass!” she hissed, shoving him toward the bathroom with her shoulder.

“OW!” he growled, as her shoulder connected with his side followed by an elbow, and shoved him hard. She finally got him in the bathroom, as he asked haughtily, “Can I at least get my clothes?”

“No,” she snarled, swinging the door shut as she pulled her robe off the door. He grabbed the door with a loud, “Bap” to scowl at her before she could close it, and she slapped his hand away. She scowled back at him. “Look, be a good boytoy, and stay in there and shut the fuck up,” she instructed, clearly already annoyed with him

“’Boytoy’?” he scoffed, clearly offended by her terminology, but she slammed the door without any further explanation.

She quickly threw her robe on and fastened it with a quick tie, calling out again more pleasantly this time, “Just a minute!” She located Kankuro’s clothes and wadded them together, hiding them under her new plushie, Meeko, before padding to the front door. She took a calming breath before opening the door to see Shikamaru standing there. He peered into her apartment as if looking for something or someone, and she closed the door against her to block his view. “What’s up?” she asked, popping her _p_.

He raised his eyebrow at her forced smile. He cleared his throat before saying, “Lord Hokage wanted to speak with you four this morning. Immediately.”

“Oh,” Fred breathed, licking her lips nervously. “Uhm, is that all?”

Shikamaru pursed his lips, then added, “And tell Kankuro that Gaara also wants to speak with him immediately.”

“Wha- Kankuro?” Fred gasped wide-eyed as if she had no idea what he was talking about. But her blushing was enough to tell anyone otherwise. “Wh-why would you think I could tell Kankuro anything?”

Shikamaru frowned, clearly unimpressed with her lying capabilities, before sighing, “How troublesome.” Shikamaru pursed his lips, then added, “You can cut the act. I know he’s in there.”

Fred shrugged, crossing her arms defensively as she huffed, “What act?”

Shikamaru blinked at her, his eyebrow raised, then pushed open her door slightly more as he pointed over to her desk. “I’m guessing those standard Suna issue male shinobi sandals are yours then?” he asked smartly, leaning on her doorjamb.

Fred turned to see the one article of clothing she forgot to hide, his fucking shoes. Her words dried up in her throat as she tried to think of a response, but only elicited a strange croak. Her bathroom door opened, revealing Kankuro completely naked except for the towel wrapped around his hips. Fred stared wide-eyed at him, which he returned with a withering smirk.

“Thanks, Shikamaru,” Kankuro said curtly with a small wave, as if nothing was wrong with this scene.

Shikamaru’s gaze flicked between the two with a slightly disappointed expression as he muttered, “Any time,” before pushing himself off the doorjamb and walking towards the other two rooms.

Fred shut the door, angrily looking at the floorboards of her apartment. Kankuro pursed his lips, clearly a little disappointed as he said, “You aren’t all that appreciative, are you?”

“I told you to stay in the bathroom,” Fred snapped with a scowl, going to her dresser and pulling out some clothes for herself.

“Why? He knew I was here,” Kankuro scoffed with a frown. His grip tightened on the towel as he settled into a laidback stance. He shrugged as he added, “You know, when a girl is fucked into a literally earth-quaking orgasm, she’s usually nice to the guy who helped her achieve it the next day.”

She grit her teeth, slamming her dresser shut as she looked at him, seething now. “I would have been nice if. You. Stayed. In. The. FUCKING. BATHROOM!” she howled at him.

Kankuro gave a bored sigh, tossing the towel on the bed. She knew him getting naked was a power move on his part, letting her see his toned legs, perfectly sculpted ass, and the V at his hips that led down to his decently sized, and surprisingly uncircumcised penis. His gaze caught hers, and he smirked. She blushed as she realized she was staring, and quickly looked away. “You’re not ashamed of sleeping with me, are you?” he asked haughtily.

“No,” she breathed, passing him as she laid her outfit for the day on the bed. She turned her back to him, and quickly took off her robe.

He stepped up behind her, trying to get her to look at him. “Because I remember us having a good time,” he continued. He pursed his lips before he added, “I also remember you instigating things.”

It worked. “Excuse me?”

He smirked. “You asked me to take you home last night, with the clear expectation that we were going to have sex,” he clarified. “Especially after several comments about wanting to feel my butt.”

She blushed, turning back away. “Look,” she said with a sigh, “I do not regret having sex with you. I just don’t like my sex life broadcasted, is all.” She turned back to her clothes, fishing for her underwear as she huffed, “Which it was, because an orgasm for me means a natural disaster for everyone else so…” She sucked on her teeth and stepped into a new pair of underwear, quickly still feeling his eyes on her. “If having orgasms means causing more earthquakes, I can do without.”

“That’s a shame,” he sighed, stepping over towards her. Even though she was doing her best not to look, she was innately aware of his closeness to her and nakedness. “Because I’m sure if given time, you’d figure out how to avoid the earthquakes while still enjoying yourself.” He smirked as he added, “Plus, it gives me something big to brag about to my buddies. Seriously, how many men can claim to have started an earthquake by fucking?”

He laughed at his joke, but she shoved him away as she huffed, “Fuck off,” before going back to her clothes. “And get dressed. Jeez,” she added uncomfortably.

He smiled at her discomfort, not ashamed of his physique at all. He then looked around the room and asked blandly, “What did you do with my clothes?” noting they weren’t strewn about like before.

“I hid them under Meeko,” she huffed, pulling her shirt on.

He frowned, mouthing, “Meeko?” as he looked around the room, before his eyes settled on the Shukaku plushie. “Shukaku, right.”

“No, Meeko,” Fred corrected.

Kankuro dropped his clothes on the bed to get dressed next to her as he pointed back to her prize from the previous night and said, “That’s actually a Shukaku plushie. Shukaku the sand spirit.”

Fred pursed her lips as she pulled on her pants, shrugging in disagreement as she said, “Well, here his name is Meeko.”

Kankuro scoffed as he pulled on his underwear. “Whatever you say.”

She slid on her flats and went to brush her teeth and hair as he pulled his pants on, and then his sleeveless turtleneck. She stepped out of the bathroom, and stared at him sitting on her bed, making him pause as he put on his gloves. “What?” he asked.

She stepped over to him, and grabbing his head by the base of his skull planted a kiss on his mouth, licking his lips for entrance, which he granted. The kiss was quick, just a couple twists of their tongues against each other before she pulled away. He opened his eyes first, full of cloudy confusion. “Thank you,” Fred said. “Last night was wonderful.” She pursed her lips with a small bob of her head before retracting, “Well, minus the natural disaster.” He did his best to hold back his knowing smile. She pulled away, grabbing her purse as she strode to her front door and grabbed the knob to open it. “Lock up when you leave.”

“Hey,” he coughed before she left. She paused turning to him. He licked his lips nervously, before offering, “If you’re ever in Suna, let me know.”

She pursed her lips, a cute blush coloring her cheeks as she said, “Sure. Same goes for you if you’re ever back here.” She quickly shut the door, and he heard her chatting with her friends outside as they left. He smirked to himself as he finished getting himself dressed. _Winifred Buchanan,_ he mused, _I’m sure that’s not the last I’ll see of her._

*~*~*

Cordi finished brushing her hair, and set out to head back to the Sand Siblings’ hotel, and by extension her own. She’d spent the night with Lynne and Ronnie in Lynne’s room. How they all fit on that twin bed was beyond her, but they had made it work. But she was stiff this morning from how cramped it was. They had all gone to bed sometime after the earthquake last night. They didn’t know what caused it, but it did scare the bejeezus out of them when it happened. It was the first earthquake any of them had ever experienced. But it didn’t kill the power, and nothing was broken afterwards. It was just really quick and strange, only lasting a few seconds.

She popped her neck as she stepped out of Lynne’s room. Both she and Ronnie had already left a few minutes earlier, after Shikamaru said they had an urgent meeting with Kakashi. At first, she thought maybe her future son was wrong, and Kakashi had found out how to send them back. But when Shikamaru informed Cordi that Gaara needed to see here immediately, she began to worry.

She locked the door, and began walking down the deck towards the stairs when one of the other doors opened. She froze with wide eyes as she saw Kankuro, sans make-up, stepping out of Fred’s room. “I fucking knew it,” she laughed.

Kankuro whipped around, surprised to see her. “What?” he asked.

“I told Fred that you two were going to bang last night, and even though she said, ‘No. I just want to dance and have a fun time without feeling guilty,’” she said in a mocking tone, “I still fucking knew it was going to happen.”

Kankuro frowned, eyeing his family’s newest roommate weirdly. “And how would you know that?” he asked. He and Fred had only met yesterday evening. It wasn’t a bet anyone would have made.

“Because, you are exactly her type,” Cordi scoffed, continuing towards the stairs, “and I have a sixth sense about this kind of stuff.”

Kankuro fell in step with her, his eyebrows raised at her explanation. “A sixth sense?” he scoffed.

“Oh, yeah,” Cordi nodded. “So far, three for three.” He looked at her like that comment needed an explanation. “I predicted Ronnie losing her virginity two days before it happened. I predicted Lynne hooking up with some guy after being invited to a party. And now this.” She smirked as she added, “And every time, they each said, ‘No. We’re just going to have a little bit of fun.’”

He smiled knowingly as he commented, “Well, we did have a bit of fun.”

Cordi rolled her eyes. “Of course you’d say that. You’re a guy,” she huffed, crossing her arms. “Everybody knows guys have no clue if the girl actually enjoys herself.”

He raised his eyebrows at that. She sounded just as cynical as Fred had last night before he proved her wrong. “And how many men have you slept with?”

She blushed, pursing her lips tightly.

He leaned in, putting his hand to his ear as he mocked, “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you.” She just blushed more. He raised his eyebrows at her expression, slightly surprised. “My, my Ms. Turner. Are you a virgin?”

Her silence was deafening, and very telling.

He made an interested frown as he said, “Color me surprised.”

She scowled. “What I don’t dress prudishly enough for your presumptions?”

“In a word, yeah,” he said with a shrug. He stuck his hands in his pockets as he looked her over curiously. “So, what’s the hold up?”

She shrugged meaninglessly. “Haven’t met the right guy.” She glowered at him before adding, “Not that it’s any of your business.”

He put his hands up in surrender. She was right about that. It was none of his business. They kept walking along, keeping silent. Kankuro saw a street clock, and he noted the time. It was almost eight when they had left the dorms, and it was now eight o’ five. He looked back, and saw they’d only walked three blocks, with ten left to go. “We should hurry up. Gaara’s rather impatient.”

Cordi looked at him pointedly, then gestured, “Well, you can go ahead and shunshin over there, leaving me by myself, and tell him I’ll catch up in an hour.”

He frowned. “Or you can shunshin with me,” he countered.

Cordi made a strange expression as she laughed, “What part of, ‘no chakra,’ was lost on you?”

“The part where I can shunshin you with my puppet jutsu,” Kankuro stated. He shrugged as he thought about it, then added, “Or carry you like some melodramatic hero, but that’s not really my style.”

Cordi paused, eyeing him carefully. Knowing him, she didn’t want him carrying her either. But with the puppet jutsu… Chiyo had used it on Sakura, but Sakura was a chunin kunoichi at the time. “Is the puppet jutsu safe for non-ninjas.”

“Only if you let me completely control your movements,” he stated blandly. He lifted a hand, and said, “See?” He’d already attached his chakra strings, and began to make her jump in place higher than a normal human.

“FUCK! OK!” she shrieked fearfully. “Just put me down!”

He smirked as he replied, “Once we get there.” He jumped to the roof of the nearest building, shunshining with Cordi screaming obscenities and calling him horrible names right next to him. He laughed as he continued over the rooftops, not believing the obscenities coming out of the girl’s mouth. “Calm down, Cordi. And watch your language. There’s children present.”

“Oh JESUS! FUCK! Shut AH!” she yelped. Kankuro laughed at her. Eventually, she began to laugh through her tears as she said, “This wouldn’t be so BAD if I wasn’t FUCKing terrified of heights.”

“Then don’t look down,” he called back to her.

“It’s not that,” she called back to him. “Oh, Fuck FUCK! Looking dOWN isn’t an issue for me. JESUS! It’s moving high up—CHRIST ALMIGHTY—without seeing where my feet are. SHIT SHIT! Looking up is the issue.”

“That’s oddly specific,” Kankuro laughed.

“Most of my FEARS are,” she half laughed, half cried back. They landed in front of the hotel, and Kankuro landed her carefully on the cobblestone road, and detached his chakra strings. As soon as control was given back to her, she collapsed in on herself, shaking like a leaf as she cried.

Kankuro frowned, placing his hand on his hip as he said, “Come on, it wasn’t that terrifying was it?” She only answered with a sob. He knelt next to her, placing a hand on her back as he offered, “Why don’t you tell me another oddly specific fear.”

Her breathing was still shaky, but it began to calm slowly as she answered, “Sharks in videogames. I think it’s rooted in my general fear of being eaten. But that’s my weirdest one. Other than the other half of my fear of heights being the sky or ceiling is too close.”

He rubbed her back as he said, “You’re very weird, Cordelia Turner.”

“I know,” she breathed, having calmed back down.

He offered his hand, and she took it, hoisting herself up. They walked into the hotel together and up to the room. Kankuro opened the door, gesturing for her to walk in first, which she did. As they walked in, they saw Gaara sitting at the kitchenette table with his usual morning tea, a small scowl on his face as he took in both Kankuro and Cordi. Temari sat next to him, looking up at them blandly as she sipped her tea as well.

“Good morning,” Kankuro said cheerily.

Temari held a plate of toast and her own tea as she remarked. “Oh, you’re both back. I thought that colorful language sounded familiar.”

Cordi laughed nervously, stating, “Yeah. Kankuro thought hurtling me over Konoha with his puppet jutsu was the best way to get us back in a timely manner, despite my informing him of my horrible fear of heights.” Her gaze flicked over to Gaara, who looked unimpressed. She stepped over to the table and grabbed a piece of toast as she said cheerily, “Good morning, Gaara.” When he didn’t respond except to sip his tea, she moved over to the table and asked Temari, “Is there any tea left over?”

Temari nodded, pouring her a small cup. Cordi began to put a couple spoonfuls of sugar and stirring it in with a slight clinking, which Gaara looked at, the glimmer in his eyes a mix of annoyed and questioning. She stopped self-consciously, and took a sip. She cleared her throat as she said, “Sorry I didn’t come back last night. Fred asked me to drop off the plushie she won last night, and when I got to the dorms, Lynne and Ronnie were watching some of our favorite movies, which weren’t done until after midnight.”

Kankuro eyed her surprised. “They already made up?”

Cordi nodded as she took another sip. She looked at her tea as she said, “Mmm. That’s good. Is that mint?” Temari nodded. “Love mint tea,” Cordi stated.

Kankuro eyed his siblings carefully. “Usually we save that for when we’re traveling.”

Temari looked up suspiciously, her gaze flicking between Gaara and Kankuro with pursed lips. Gaara only sipped more on his tea. “Well,” she chirped, “I think I should go tell our genin the news about the finals.” She grabbed her fan, and swiftly made her way around her middle brother and out the door.

Kankuro frowned pointing at her, then at Gaara. “What’s going on?” he asked. Cordi also looked curiously at the young Kazekage.

Gaara pursed his lips, fingering his cup. “Due to the earthquake last night,” Gaara started, his seafoam eyes settling on Kankuro pointedly, “Kakashi decreed the tournament would be postponed a day to ‘assess damages.’” Kankuro laughed nervously, before Gaara added, “At least that’s what he’s told the other Kage.”

Kankuro frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Well, it quickly became clear what caused the earthquake when the sensory ninjas divined its starting point at the girls’ dorms last night,” Gaara stated, a disappointed glare settling on his brother.

“Oh,” Kankuro laughed, blushing slightly with a smirk.

Cordi spun to look at the puppeteer with wide-eyed realization gasped, “That was you and Fred?” When Kankuro only proudly smiled as if remembering the previous night, Cordi annoyedly scoffed, “Wow.” She turned to Gaara, jutting her thumb at Kankuro with a disappointed frown as she said, “You know there’s no living with him after that. Guarantee you, it’s his new prime source of bragging from now on.”

Kankuro shrugged as he joked, “Well, I did literally rock her world.”

Cordi only lifted her hand to Kankuro like a disappointed game show girl, with Kankuro’s comment being a prime sample of what they were to expect from now on.

“Which brings me to my next point,” Gaara segued stiffly, not looking at them as he did his best to stifle his blush. “The Suna Council wants Cordelia and her dragon in Suna early for testing.” Cordi’s smiling gaze on Gaara swiftly fell, her heart skipping a beat and then plummeting. _What did he do?_ The first part of what he said suddenly rang clear to her. The sensory ninjas discovered the earthquake’s location, and they were only called upon this morning. The only reason for that kind of delay was if Kakashi knew.

“Dragon?” Kankuro scoffed.

“Yes,” Gaara replied stone-faced. “Dragon.”

“What did you do?” Cordi asked horrified. If he told Kakashi about their powers was one thing, but mentioning the dragons was something else. His seafoam eyes were cold and unfeeling, and not even looking at her.

Gaara ignored her question as he continued, “The Council suggested I send either you or Temari back with her and her dragon, Aleera. After your involvement last night, I decided it should be you.”

“Wait, you’re sending me home early because of a one-night stand?” Kankuro scoffed.

“Except it wasn’t just a one-night stand,” Gaara countered. “It caused an earthquake that not only disrupted the festival and Chunin Exams, but might have exposed these women to the other three Kage, who in turn might start a war if the situation is not handled correctly.” Gaara pursed his lips as he regarded his brother crossly. “Remember, Kakashi withheld their existence at the Summit. And after our meeting last night about the girls and their dragons, I understand why. But if the other Kage found out such powers existed, and suspected that Konoha was withholding information that might be crucial to the handling of the Otsutsuki clan, and that Suna knew about it and had claimed one set, the results would be disastrous. Especially for Suna, who does not have the resources for another war.”

“Gaara,” Kankuro tried.

“It’s done,” Gaara affirmed coolly. “You’ll be traveling with a team of Suna jonin, who will be assisting Cordelia with getting Aleera drugged and on the train, which you both will be taking to Suna. The train leaves in an hour and a half, so I suggest you both get packing.”

Cordi’s jaw hung open at the redhead who blandly reached for his tea. He told everyone the girls were trying to protect their dragons from. Kakashi. **The Suna Council.** _Why the fuck would he tell the Suna Council!?_ her brain howled. She knew from the show that the Suna Council was full of shady and selfish bureaucratic ninjas who had no qualms about the previous Kazekage issuing assassinations on his six-year-old son. Not to mention the data books mentioned the position of Kazekage was considered cursed, because all prior Kazekages had been murdered in coup attempts, most of which were orchestrated by the Council or Council members. Temari had even joked a couple times about Gaara and his siblings’ strained relationship with the Suna Council, and how shady they were dealing with their own ninja. Now they wanted her and her dragon in Suna to run tests? _He might as well have told Orochi-fucking-maru!_

She slapped the table and jumped up, causing Gaara to pause as he regarded her coolly. “You,” she growled, “are a heartless son of a bitch. Do you know that?”

He looked at her a little surprised at the insult, but not the least bit threatened. “Cordi,” Kankuro breathed in warning.

“I fucking trusted you,” she hissed, pointing to herself angrily. The oven eyes snapped to fiery life under her anger, and the table smoked a little under her hand. “I trusted you, and you just …” she shook her head, unable to finish her sentence.

Gaara sighed, looking at her a little regretfully as he said, “I know you feel betrayed but …”

She balled her fists until her knuckles turned white and slammed it against the table as she howled, “No! Fuck you.” She paused only to control her breathing before she clenched her fists tightly, and hissed, “You don’t get to tell me how I feel when your knife is in my back!” Gaara looked a little disheartened by her dismissal. She pushed away from the table, huffing, “I have to go warn my friends.”

“It’s too late for that,” Gaara stated plainly, causing her to pause. “Kakashi is handling the other girls and their dragons as we speak. They’ll be tied up most of the day.”

She balled her fist at his explanation, her arms and shoulders shaking with rage. “You weren’t even going to let me say goodbye?” she hissed, her tone threatening.

“We need to get you out immediately,” Gaara said, dodging the question. “I know you don’t believe me when I say this, but it _is_ for your own good. As well as your friends.”

She spun around to glare at him. She could see he sincerely believed that, but she was too hurt to take him at his word again. She’d trusted him and he’d betrayed her. He made her feel foolish. She had been a fool. He’d only known her two weeks. What did she expect? He’d put her trust first? She was a complete and utter fool. She felt her lips quivering as her anger subsided to hurt betrayal. She had liked him. A lot. And he did this to her. The lump in her throat began to press as she felt her heart breaking. Her feelings for him had clouded her judgement, and now her friends were paying for it. She couldn’t look at him, and retreated back to her room to hide. As soon as she slammed the door behind her, everything came crashing down around her. She collapsed against the door and sobbed into her hands, trying her best to muffle her cries.

Outside, Kankuro looked at the closed door with a pitiful expression. He frowned at his younger brother and said, “That was cold, Gaara.”

Gaara gave a small pout at the closed door as well, listening to Cordi crying on the other side. He shook his head dismissively as he turned towards the suite door, and said, “I need to check in with the jonin who will be traveling back with you both. I’ll handle her bags while you and Cordi meet up with the jonin at the Forest of Death. Once Aleera is drugged, you’ll need to use your Salamander to get her on the train.”

Kankuro made a weird face, then asked, “How big is it?” But Gaara was already gone. “Ok,” Kankuro huffed as he rolled his eyes, because of course his little brother wasn’t forthcoming with information. He walked into their shared room and began to pack. It wouldn’t take him too long anyway.

*~*~*

Kakashi sat in his office, signing off the final paperwork for the Chunin Exam delays, which included reimbursing the Kage for their extra night in the hotels, as well as their genin. He handed the last scroll to the awaiting ninja, ordering, “Take this to the Tsuchikage.” The ninja bowed, and shunshined on his way. Once he was gone, Kakashi rubbed his eyes, tired already from all the bureaucratic paperwork he was subjected to over the night, from drafting a primary assessment for the women from Gaara and Temari’s descriptions of their powers, as well as Temari’s training regimen for them, to actually sending out teams of ninja to assess property damages from the earthquake. There was some. Not much, but some that Kakashi would still have to pay for. A small monument had cracked. Many stores lost breakable goods, and some windows had cracked. The library was a shambles, and needed some genin to clean it up. The springs needed to be closed because a water line burst.

He had a fleeting notion to bill Gaara for these issues, given his brother’s direct involvement with the earthquake, but he dismissed the thought as soon as it came. Given the cause, there was no way for Kankuro to know such actions would result in an earthquake. It was ridiculous to think that it would. And from how Gaara had been talking the night before, it seemed likely Kankuro would not have known the full extent of Winifred’s powers. That and the poor young Kazekage had clearly been mortified by the knowledge of his brother’s activities. Judging by his blushing to the point of looking monochromatic with his hair and clothes, Kakashi would wager the poor young man had probably never had the pleasure of being bedded in his whole life. Therefore, it would be mean of Kakashi to subject the Kazekage to pay for his brother’s actions. Plus it was Kankuro’s actions with one of Kakashi’s subjects.

A knock on his door pulled him out of his reverie, and he called out, “Enter.”

The door opened with a soft click, and in stepped Shizune, the Hokage’s assistant since Tsunade ran the office. “You needed to see me, Lord Kakashi.”

“You can dispense with the ‘Lord,’” he sighed with a dismissive wave.

“Yes, Lord,” she replied, only to earn a pointed glower. She cleared her throat as she asked, “What can I help you with?”

“Last night, Lord Kazekage gave me a lead I need you to start researching, which pertains to the new arrivals,” Kakashi stated, his hands steepled as he leaned over his desk on his elbows. “All I have is a name, but I’m sure you’ve found more with less to go on.” Shizune made an odd agreeing shrug, as if he wasn’t entirely wrong. He grabbed a pen and paper, writing the name down as he said, “The name is Mr. Youshida. I was not told if he was dead or alive—"

He was interrupted with his phone ringing, a sound he wasn’t used to yet. He usually kept the device in a drawer, since he rarely used it. The phones were recent installations in the last year in the Kages’ offices. Phones had been in use the past decade predominantly only for the Daimyos and their upper officials, which only recently included the Kages after the Fourth Ninja War. The Daimyo’s of each country agreed it was best that they be able to access their Kages at any given point, and the Kages agreed if anything came up with the Otsutsuki, a messenger eagle taking a day to deliver the news would incur too long a delay for any necessary response. Now they were in the process of outfitting all medical buildings, from hospitals to vets, with phones in case of emergency. This also included some new technology called the Internet, with new communication called email. It was all new to Kakashi, and difficult to learn, so he preferred to keep it hidden away. He slid open the drawer and picked up the receiver, holding it in his hand before answering as he ripped off the page and held it out to Shizune. She grabbed it and he pointed at the slip, mouthing, “Find him.”

“Yes, My Lord,” she said with a bow before disappearing.

He rolled his eyes at her formality, then put the receiver to his ear as he gruffly answered, “Hello.”

“Lord Sixth,” the familiar gravelly voice of the Kazekage intoned. _Speak of the Devil,_ Kakashi mused. “I’m sorry if I caught you at an odd time.”

“No, no,” Kakashi huffed, resettling in his seat. “I’m just not used to these new phones yet.”

“I understand,” Gaara replied with a snicker, as if familiar with the problem himself. “I was just calling to inform you Cordelia Turner and Aleera have been loaded on the train, and are being escorted to Suna by Kankuro. And I’ve been asked to assure any research on the dragons on your end will be forwarded to us in Suna. Our findings will also be reciprocated.”

“Yes, yes,” Kakashi grumbled. “Thank you. I’ll have my team get in position, and will send their primary assessment on.”

“Thank you, Lord Kakashi.”

“Sure thing, Lord Gaara.”

He hung up, closing the drawer and rubbing his eyes again. It was a never-ending thing, this job. A constant balancing act to hold peace, as well as a constant battle against the never-ending, and gradually increasing tide of paperwork. Not to mention failing miserably at keeping up with the constant increasing pace of technology, which at the age of thirty-three seemed impossible to learn. And he really hated being called “Lord.”

Another thing was becoming painfully certain to him about his job. If he did not schedule hour nap breaks for himself after lunch, he would not make it through the day. Especially on nights like last night, where new information turned a would be relaxing evening into serious all-nighter of bullshit preparation to keep this delicate balance of peace they strove so hard to achieve. He was already feeling the exhaustion, and he knew after his nap, he’d be busy looking over the new paperwork on the dragons, and forwarding those findings to Suna. Then final preperations for the Chunin Exam Finals, because they’d been moved a day. He honestly could not wait until Naruto took over the office. As long as the blonde knucklehead stuck to the planned regimen Kakashi, Iruka, and Shikamaru created, Naruto would take over in just a few years. That was Kakashi’s one beacon of hope. Just a few more years, then he’d retire and live peacefully with his nin-dogs before forty with a handsome stipend for his work as Hokage, and never working another day in his life. That was his dream. And it was beautiful.

There was another knock on the door that pulled him away from his thoughts, and he called out, “Enter!” as he dropped his hand to his desk. It wouldn’t do to look tired on duty. Especially at the hour of ten thirty in the morning.

In walked Shikamaru, followed by the four women in question that ruined his would have been relaxing evening. Kakashi smiled, even though no one could see it under his mask. “Good morning,” he greeted, pulling himself up to stand.

“Good morning,” they each greeting semi-simultaneously, but all with different intonations. Rox cleared her throat, speaking up for the group as she asked, “You needed to see us?”

“Yes,” Kakashi breathed, meeting each woman’s eyes once.

Once was all Lynne needed. “He knows!” the redhead hissed. Her gaze shot over to Shikamaru accusingly as she added, “They both know.”

“What?” Rox gasped, looking between Lynne and Shikamaru. Shikamaru looked away a little guiltily, and Rox’s heart dropped.

Kakashi smirked. “I can see Lord Gaara’s information about your powers was accurate.”

Fred frowned. “Gaara?” she growled. They had said he was trustworthy. Lynne had informed them of Cordi telling Gaara about Aleera and explaining their powers yesterday morning, citing it as her only course of action. Ronnie, Rox and Lynne all agreed Gaara was probably the most trustworthy person to tell. But he’d blabbed? And if so, how much?

“Now, there’s no reason to get upset,” Kakashi cut in, holding his hands up in a calming manner as Ronnie and Lynne began to speak up in anger. “I brought you all here to discuss what we know and what needs to be done. Are there any objections?” When the girls stayed quiet, he gave relieved sigh with a smile, “Alright. Last night, I had a meeting with the Kazekage, who informed me that each of you have gained abilities, each pertaining to a particular element, and also obtained dragons hiding in the Forest of Death.”

“Dragons?” Shikamaru balked.

“Right,” Kakashi grumbled, pointing to the shadow ninja, “I did not tell you that part.”

Shikamaru placed his hands on his hips as he asked, “Why not?”

“Because I had to get to work on the earthquake last night,” Kakashi excused, giving Fred a knowing look.

Lynne’s eyes flew wide, turning to the eldest of the group as she gasped, “That was you!?” Fred shot her back a threatening glare, clearly mentally passing a promise of bodily harm if Lynne blabbed anymore. Lynne pursed her lips and turned back to the Hokage.

“What did she mean, ‘That was you’?” Ronnie whined, clearly not liking not being in the loop

Rox held up an accusing finger as she said, “Oh my god! You had a gentleman caller last night! Didn’t you!?”

Fred blushed at the archaic turn of phrase. “No,” she tried to say, but Ronnie cut her off, also pointing an accusing fingers as she said, “You did! You had a boy over to bump uglies!” Fred clammed up under her friends’ declarations.

“I thought I heard a man through the walls this morning when I got out of the shower,” Rox laughed. “So, who was it?”

“Yeah, who was it!?” Ronnie chimed in. Lynne stood quietly with her hand over her mouth. When Fred didn’t answer, Ronnie jutted her thumb over to the Nara clan head, and said, “Shikamaru woke us all up this morning. I bet you he saw him!”

Rox looked over at the man she’d been on three dates with eagerly as she asked, “Who was it?”

“Uh,” Shikamaru croaked, seeing all four women looking at him. Rox and Ronnie both looked eager for their answer, while Lynne only looked curiously at him, as if internally debating if he would tell them or not. Clearly, she’d already figured out who it was, likely by reading Fred’s mind. His gaze caught Fred’s and she looked back at him pleadingly, mouthing, “Please don’t say it.” Usually, he didn’t care to get in the middle of such things. He cleared his throat as he said, “I – uh, I didn’t see.”

Ronnie frowned disappointedly. “Liar.” She swiveled back to her sister swiftly as she pestered, “You have to tell us, Fred!”

“Ladies!” Kakashi interrupted, his voice calm, but booming. The girls’ tittering stopped immediately as they faced forward. “Let us return to the matter at hand.” When he saw that they were steady and quiet, he smiled. “Now, I’ve asked for the Inuzukas to meet you at the Forest of Death, and for the rest of the day, you will help them with your dragons as they do their examinations. Being the village’s expert on animals and veterinary practices, I figured they would be best for that.”

“And by examinations, you mean what?” Fred asked.

Kakashi frowned, not liking her suspicious tone. “Nothing unnecessary, if that’s what you’re afraid of,” he assured her, his eyes narrowed on her as if daring her to suggest otherwise. He bobbed his head as he added, “But they are a new species, and therefore must be studied for their own health.”

Fred turned to Lynne as if mentally asking if she believed him, and Lynne nodded. She turned back to Kakashi. “Alright,” she acquiesced, consenting for the group.

“Good,” Kakashi grinned under his mask. He did like when people didn’t fight him on things. “I’ve postponed the Chunin exams a day, so the day after next, Shikamaru, you and Hinata will take over training these four in the afternoons after they are let out of school.”

“But, Lord Kakashi,” Shikamaru started to protest.

“And I am naming you in charge of their group,” Kakashi added, ignoring the shadow ninja. “You are responsible for them, as well as keeping their abilities hidden, especially while the other Kage are in Konoha.”

Shikamaru licked his lips, wanting to protest the wisdom of such an order, but it was clear Kakashi picked him for multiple reasons, and he wouldn’t be swayed. “Yes sir,” he huffed, then looked over to Rox with a frown and mumbling under his breath, “How troublesome.”

“What about Cordi?” Rox asked worriedly. When Kakashi gestured for her to point out which one that was, she reiterated, “My sister. The one going to Suna.”

Kakashi frowned, then asked with an unbothered shrug, “What about her?”

Rox set her jaw, not liking his careless attitude. “With Gaara and his siblings staying here an extra day, is she going to meet us with the Inuzukas?”

Kakashi shook his head blandly. “I’d say no. Lord Kazekage just called before you all arrived, stating both Cordi and her dragon are already on their way to Suna with an escort.” Rox was immediately crestfallen with his answer.

“What?” Ronnie gasped. “Without saying goodbye?”

“She wouldn’t do that,” Lynne assured her.

“I doubt she had much say in the matter,” Kakashi stated. “It was my understanding Gaara made the arrangements last night per his Council’s orders.”

“She would still try to say goodbye,” Ronnie huffed, quickly diving her hand into her purse, digging through it, before pulling out her phone. She frowned disappointedly as she looked at the screen. “She tried to call,” Ronnie told them.

Rox froze as her phone began to ring out, _“YO’ SIS! Pick up your phone! I’m calling you! Bitch better pick up her phone! Taking a long time to answer, Rox. If you don’t, better call me back.”_ Rox immediately recognized her sister’s ringtone, which Cordi recorded after too much eggnog at the family Christmas party, and pulled her phone out of her pocket as she swiftly exited Kakashi’s office, her friends following close behind as she answered. “Cordi?”

*~*~*

_“Guess what!? You’ve reached Ronnie Buchanan’s voicemail. Leave a message at the beep.”_

“Ronnie. It’s Cordi. Gaara … I was sent to Suna before I could say goodbye. So this is me saying goodbye. I don’t know the next time I’ll be in Konoha. So I just wanted to say I love you all and I’ll miss you. Bye.”

_“ **We’re sorry.** Lynne Belfoco **is not available right now. Please leave a brief message at the tone.** ”_

“Lynne. It’s Cordi. I was sent to Suna early, and I didn’t get to say goodbye. So I love you and I’ll miss you lots. And I promise to stay in touch. Bye.”

_“You’ve reached Winifred Buchanan’s voicemail. Here comes the beep. Let’s hope you know what to do with it.”_

“Fred. It’s Cordi. Kankuro and I were sent back to Suna early, which by the way, Called It! I saw him coming out of your room this morning, so don’t try to deny it either! Anyway, we left before I could say goodbye to everyone, so I just wanted to tell you all I love you and already miss you dearly. Goodbye.”

Cordi paced along the lounge section of the first-class car, or as everyone here called it, the Daimyo’s Car, as she searched through her cellphone contacts, just trying to reach one of her friends. None of her other friends answered, and Rox was at the bottom of her contacts list. The train was speeding at a brisk pace of roughly thirty miles an hour, and Kankuro relaxed on one of the sofas, watching Cordi move back and forth as she walked her little lap around the lounge. He had found time to repaint his face somewhere between packing and capturing Aleera.

“Will you stop?” he asked, his brow furrowed as his dark eyes followed her movements. “The train is moving. And with your shit balance, you could hurt yourself.”

She frowned, “I do not have shit balance.”

Kankuro made a face as he replied, “I thought you said that’s why you were afraid of heights.”

She shook her head with a scoff. “No, I said I didn’t like being high up without knowing where my feet are. Big difference.” She found her sister’s number, then hit dial. “Plus, I’ve had a lot of practice walking on faster moving vehicles with buses and subways. Hell even planes,” she dismissed, putting her phone to her ear as she listened to it ring. Kankuro frowned at her dismissal, not understanding what she could mean by that as she whispered into her phone, “Please pick-up. Please pick-up. Please pick-up.”

_“Cordi?”_

“Rox!” she exclaimed, practically jumping she reached one of them. “Oh, thank God I got you.”

_“Kakashi told us you’ve already left for Suna. What happened?”_

Cordi set her jaw, feeling the lump in her throat. “Gaara, that’s what!” she spat, crossing her arms as if to hold herself together. “I’m sorry you guys. I thought I could trust him with the dragons—”

 _“Told you all that was a dumb idea!”_ one of the other girls barked so loud Cordi had to pull the phone away from her ear momentarily. It sounded like Fred. Apparently, Rox had her on speakerphone.

 _“Hush!”_ Rox hissed at whoever made the outburst.

“Well, with us traveling the desert, I figured it was my only option,” Cordi explained to Fred defensively. She began pacing again as she continued, “Y’know, there isn’t really any place to hide her in the desert. And I figured from the show, since the whole Naruto thing, Gaara was _supposed_ to be trustworthy and honorable, but…”

“He _is_ trustworthy and honorable,” Kankuro cut in.

Cordi reeled on him, sneering as she snapped, “Today begs to differ!” Kankuro rolled his eyes with a shrug as he shrank back into his couch. She let out a sigh as she began to pace again. “Anyway, he told Kakashi about us, and the dragons. _As well as the Suna Council,_ which I’m very pissed about, knowing how shady they are.”

“Which, again, is part of his job,” Kankuro added, picking at the dirt in his fingernails.

Cordi shot him a scathing look, as she continued, “The Council told him they wanted me and Aleera in Suna immediately. And he sent us on our way as soon as I got back to the hotel, like the Council’s obedient lap dog.”

“Hey,” Kankuro barked, glaring tiredly at her. She stopped short, swallowing a small gulp under his tight scowl. “I know you’re upset with Gaara, but you **do not** talk about it him like that.”

Cordi pursed her lips and sucked on her teeth as she scowled back at the puppeteer. She looked away, feeling her eyes stinging with tears again. She was upset with Gaara. She was more upset with herself for trusting him, but it was easier to take her anger and hurt out on the absent Kazekage. She needed her anger directed at someone else, because her friends weren’t there to calm her down like always. She needed them. To back her up in her anger. Not dismiss her hurt as a menial problem to suck up, like Kankuro was trying to do. It was better for her to have someone remind her she’s above it. Someone to hug her and tell her “We’ll get through this together.”

Kankuro was as comforting as a wet blanket in winter in this regard. She needed her friends. She hated feeling like this. Alone. Heading to a city where no one would understand her like her friends in Konoha. Where she’d have no one to lean on. No one to trust. She thought she’d have that in Gaara, but, clearly, she was mistaken.

She stuffed her hurt feelings down. She couldn’t cry here. “He could have at least let me say goodbye,” she huffed around the lump in her throat.

Kankuro nodded with that, licking his lips as he muttered, “Yes. He could have done that.”

 _“I’m sorry, Sis,”_ Rox sighed over the line. _“I can’t believe he’d betray you like that.”_ Cordi snorted bitterly at her sister’s remark. Rox did tell Cordi that this wasn’t some Beauty and the Beast scenario. That Gaara now was probably as good a person he was going to be, and she shouldn’t expect more from him. It was Cordi’s fault she didn’t take the advice to heart.

 _“You want me to string him up by his toes?”_ Fred asked, Ronnie cheering behind her to second the motion. Cordi laughed at that. _“You know I could do it. Easily! We all could.”_

“No, that’s not necessary,” Cordi laughed, rubbing her eye gently. “I can fight my own battles.”

 _“Still,”_ Fred grumbled.

 _“Are you going to be ok?”_ Rox asked, her voice earnest.

Cordi sighed. Wasn’t that a good question? It was a question she’d been asking herself since she stepped on the train and saw it pull away from the station. But she didn’t want her sister to worry. It wouldn’t do any good. “I’ll be fine. You know me. I always land on my feet.” She looked up, pausing from her pacing, and faced the door to the luggage car. She sighed as she thought about Aleera in the luggage car, drugged and tied down. She felt guilt gnawing at her from that too. She cleared her throat as she added, “I just wish I got to warn you all, and say goodbye before I left.”

 _“Well, I read Kakashi and Shikamaru’s minds earlier, and I believe their intentions are good and clear. Kakashi is planning on keeping his research on us in house and close to the chest,”_ Lynne stated.

 _“Yeah, I think we’ll be fine, Cordi,”_ Rox assured her. _“He’s got the Inuzuka’s doing the research on the … uhm … **Smaugs** in their own habitat. So, they aren’t being shipped off, and it doesn’t look like we’re being separated like we feared.”_

Cordi laughed at Rox’s codename. Since the fourth day after their arrival, they realized they couldn’t just outright say “dragon” in public or in general mixed company. So they’d substitute it for famous pop-culture dragons, like Mushu or Puff. The only time Cordi had been a little lost by the substitution was when Lynne called them “Falkors.”

She was happy they weren’t being so adversely affected. Yes, they’d be studied, but they’d be together. Not isolated like Cordi suspected she might be. Maybe Gaara hadn’t completely misspoken. This might just be the best option for her friends, but Cordi’s outlooks still remained to be seen. “Then I guess just the goodbye,” Cordi sighed, again crossing her arms around her tightly.

 _“We’re hugging you through the phone!”_ Lynne called over her friends. _“I hope you can feel it!”_

Cordi tightened her hand at her side, squeezing her arm into her, almost simulating the hug for herself. “I miss you all already,” she sniffled, losing her battle to not cry.

 _“We miss you too!!!”_ Ronnie said.

 _“I expect a phone call once a week. Just like when I was at school,”_ Rox said quickly, her voice slightly broken as if she was holding back tears herself. _“And if one week you don’t call, I will march down to Suna myself to make sure you’re alright. Do you hear me?”_

Cordi laughed. “Yes.”

 _“She won’t be alone, either!”_ Lynne added. Fred and Ronnie concurred behind her.

Cordi laughed again. This was exactly what she needed.

 _“So, just to count,”_ Rox added with a bitter chuckle, _“that will be four very angry Smaug ladies bearing down on Suna if you need us.”_

Cordi smiled as she said, “Yes. I got it.”

 _“Well, make sure the Sand siblings know too,”_ Rox added. _“I’d hate for them to think they’re safe from us being a couple thousand miles away.”_

 _“Yeah. Tell whichever one of them is traveling with you that if there’s any more fuckery afoot, their ass is grass,”_ Fred declared.

Cordi let out a snort, garnering Kankuro’s attention as she said, “You know it’s Kankuro, Fred.”

 _“Well you tell him what I said!”_ she declared indignantly.

“What about me?” Kankuro asked.

Cordi gave him a bitter smile as she said, “Fred wanted me to tell you, and I am quoting, that if there’s any more fuckery afoot, in regards to me, you and your siblings’ collective ass is grass, according to her.”

Kankuro rolled his eyes with a smirk. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Cordi repeated what he said, and Fred scoffed, _“He better.”_

 _“Look, Cordi, we gotta’ run. We have to meet up with the Inuzukas to help with the Smaugs,”_ Rox explained.

“I get it,” Cordi sighed. “I’ll talk to you all later. I love you guys.”

 _“We love you too!”_ they all called back.

“Bye…”

_“BYE!”_

Cordi hung up, tucking her phone back in her pocket. She kind of flopped onto the couch opposite Kankuro, twisting herself around and propping her head on the back of the sofa with her arms under her chin, watching the scenery go by. They’d been on the train not even an hour, and it was surrounded by predominately forests with the occasional stretch of fields or meadows. When they first got on and had their tickets taken, the conductor had stated the ride was two and a half days. She wasn’t sure how long it was after her phone call that the silence was interrupted by one of the train’s attendants saying, “Lunch is ready in the dining car.”

“Thanks,” Kankuro replied, standing up. When Cordi didn’t move, Kankuro nodded for the other ninjas to go get their lunches while he stood behind her. “Cordi. It’s time to go eat.”

“I’m not hungry,” Cordi replied.

“You need your strength,” Kankuro reasoned. “This is a very long journey.”

“I said I’m not hungry,” Cordi insisted.

“And I’m saying that’s bullshit,” Kankuro countered. He huffed as he said, “Look, I agree. Gaara could have handled this a whole lot better.” She turned slightly toward him. “But he is the Kazekage. And being the Kazekage means he can’t just turn a blind eye to something big like this.” She set her jaw and looked down as she fingered the hem of her jeans. “Kakashi wasn’t forthcoming about you girls to the other Kage at the Summit, which Gaara respected. But dragons that might rival the size of the tailed beasts? Mysterious powers that seem to be limitless and not chakra-based? Of course he told Kakashi what was going on. They’re Konoha citizens for the time-being. And being Hokage, Kakashi should be aware of what’s going on in his own village, especially with his own ninja, which they are training to be.”

Cordi still didn’t answer.

Kankuro sighed. “As for the Suna Council, yes they are shady in more levels than I think you know. But Gaara still reports to them, as well as the Wind Daimyo, who is also just as shady. As well as more clueless, but that’s besides the point.” He stepped over to try and get her to look at him, leaning on the column between the lounge’s sofas. “I don’t think it’s the same in Konoha, but the Kazekage cannot make big decisions like adding someone to the Kazekage quarters without their blessing.” She looked at Kankuro confused as he nodded curtly saying, “So yes. He had to tell them you were coming. As for Aleera, you cannot expect that he would put the safety of his own citizens behind something as unknown as a dragon.”

“He could’ve trusted me with her,” Cordi stated.

“Cordi,” he laughed, gesturing to the luggage car where Aleera was currently in a drug induced coma, “it’s a dragon.” He crossed his arms as he scoffed, “The fact he’s arranged with the Council for you to keep her in the village’s walls means he trusts you. More than I would, if I’m to be honest.” She shot another scowl at him, but he continued, “Just think about it. That dragon might rival a tailed beast in size once it’s full grown, and he’s letting you keep it in Suna’s walls. That is a lot of trust he’s giving you for only having known you for two weeks.” He pursed his lips, then added with a shrug, “Not to mention, the fact you have a dragon might have been a good convincing factor to getting the Council to agree to letting you live with us without expectations of romantic entanglements.”

Cord frowned. “Why would the Council expect romantic entanglements?” She remembered the first night them arguing about if Gaara had invited her to live with them with the expectation of Kankuro bedding her, but she didn’t understand why.

He winced before stating, “The answer’s a little involved to explain fully.”

“We’re on a train for two days, so…” Cordi countered, gesturing for him to explain away.

He rolled his eyes, then answered with a huff, “Because the Council made it clear that they felt Gaara or I needed to get married and have some kids, which neither of us is remotely ready for. All to keep the succession of Kazekage line intact and prevent a war between Konoha and Suna, since Temari was going to marry Shikamaru, meaning their children would be the sole heir to the Kazekage title as well as Nara clan leader.” Kankuro finished his explanation with a curt nod.

Cordi made a face, turning to him completely. “Lynne mentioned Temari mentally ranting about a hypothetical baby peace treaty. I thought that was the extent of it.”

Kankuro shook his head with a laugh. “No, they arranged for Gaara to get married a couple months ago, which blew up spectacularly.” He smirked as he said, “Tried to get me first but, I was able to finesse my way out of it.”

Cordi gawked at him. “Are you telling me _Gaara_ was engaged?”

Kankuro licked his lips and nodded as he mumbled, “Kind of.” He crossed his arms as he clarified, “It was an arranged betrothal, which imploded at the marriage meeting when the girl in question used the cover of a coup to run away with her lover.” Cordi steepled her hands over her mouth to cover her shocked gaping. Kankuro pointed an accusing finger at her as he said, “You are not to say a word to Gaara that you know about this. Understood?”

Cordi nodded blankly as she breathed, “Absolutely. I-I’m just shocked.” She blinked as she tried to fit this new information to what she already knew about the Kazekage. “I didn’t think he was the type to get pushed into that type of position.”

Kankuro shrugged as he said, “Well, the Council did blindside him with it. Which is probably why when they brought it up again, he invented his girlfriend story.”

Cordi pursed her lips, wanting to say, “It’s not a story. She’s real, and her name is Matsuri.” But she couldn’t bring herself to tell Kankuro he’d been schtupping his brother’s secret girlfriend. Kankuro, despite his sexual habits, was a good man who loved his brother. If he knew the reality, he would probably never be able to talk to his brother again from the shame or guilt. She couldn’t do that to him. Matsuri was the one tricking them both, and therefore should be the one to tell them. So, Cordi stayed silent, looking away from Kankuro to resist her urge to blab.

Kankuro sighed and added, “Honestly, I feel for him. I don’t think he’s as averse to the idea of marriage as I am, but he’s clearly clueless when it comes to romantic relationships. He didn’t even notice Temari being in love with Shikamaru until they announced their engagement.” He scoffed at the last addition, then frowned as if realizing he’d said more than his brother would ever admit, and he asked, “Why were we talking about this again?”

Cordi pursed her lips, then replied, “Something about the Council needing to ok me staying with you all without expecting romantic entanglements. Also about how the Council kind of decides all the minutia of Gaara’s life, since he’s the Kazekage.”

“Right,” Kankuro huffed, shaking his head. “Being the Kazekage means every decision he makes must be verified by the Council before there can be any follow through. Especially when it comes to situations like your own.”

Cordi looked at him skeptically. “What do you mean, ‘like my own’?” she scoffed. “Do ya’ll have otherworldly people show up regularly on your doorstep?”

“No,” Kankuro replied, rolling his eyes. “But, like any other immigrant ninja coming to Suna, there is protocol and paperwork both Gaara and the Council have to jump through to make them full-fledged Suna ninja. Your unique situation only adds to that, because you are not a native to any country in this world, and whether you can be a ninja or not remains to be seen.” Kankuro sighed, rubbing his forehead as he grumbled, “Look, if you still want to be mad at Gaara, fine. Just come eat lunch. We skipped breakfast because we were packing, so you have to be hungry. It’s also better for you to keep your strength up, because when we arrive in Suna, I guarantee some Council members are going to seek you out to assess you. And the opinions they make of you then will seriously impact what happens to you once Gaara comes back.”

Cordi chewed on the inside of her cheek, thinking it over. Kankuro had made some good points, she’d admit. Gaara’s position did mean he couldn’t just be a normal friend for her. In some capacity, he’ll likely be her boss, or maybe even seen as some sort of quasi guardian, since she still wasn’t technically an adult. It was still too early to forgive what he did, but she was beginning to understand why he did it. She didn’t like tricking Aleera, and drugging her for the ride, but to prevent the other Kage from catching on, there wasn’t really another way to get Aleera through Konoha and loaded on a train. And if Gaara really did have to run everything by the Council first, then the fact he hadn’t mentioned her to them until she showed him Aleera had to mean something, right? That he didn’t just throw her to the wolves without careful consideration of everything she had told him. That if she didn’t have powers and a dragon, it was possible he wouldn’t have said anything to the Council, and just allowed her to stay with him and his siblings until it was time to return to her home world. It was foolish to think those two things wouldn’t affect his position or responsibilities.

Finally, she stood in silent agreement to follow Kankuro to the dining car. Kankuro sat them at a table with two other jonin, while the table across the walkway had the rest of their escort. One was a medical ninja, a woman named Ameno, who was monitoring Aleera’s vitals, even though the dragon was a little out of her element. She had dark brown hair and caramel colored eyes, and a figure similar to Cordi’s except two inches shorter, and wore a white kimono style dress that ended at her mid-thigh, tied closed at her waist with a red obi, and black spandex capris underneath.

She sat with her teammates, Koji and Shishio, who Cordi learned were her genin teammates as well. Shishio looked odd with the other two, with his long greasy almost purple hair, sunken cheeks and permanent scowl. Apparently, he was a formidable sensory and barrier ninja, but his waif-like stature would not give that away. He was only a couple inches taller than Cordi, and his body build was wirey, and through his black eyes Cordi could tell he was shrewd in nature, which was also apparent in his standard Suna flak jacket uniform, shoulder pads and all. Koji on the other hand was his exact opposite. He had classic heartthrob looks with lavender eyes and messy dark blond hair. His flak jacket was only half zipped up with a black t-shirt underneath, black pants tucked into his black ninja boots, and gloves. At full height, he probably easily reached six feet, being the second tallest of the group with Kankuro coming in close third.

The other team traveling with them was led by a woman named Maki, whose light brown hair peeked out from under her head wrap, and greenish hazel eyes reflected her smiling demeanor. Her subordinates were both men, Ketteimaru and Yamishi. Ketteimaru looked rather similar to Maki that Cordi assumed they were related somehow. Maybe not brother and sister, but likely at least cousins. He didn’t have the purple markings on his face like she did, but his hair was a similar color and texture, also peeking out from under his head wrap, and his eyes, although dark brown, were the same shape as hers, as was his bone structure. He was only slightly taller than Maki, which was still a couple inches taller than Cordi herself. Yamishi was the tallest in their group, easily towering in at well over six feet. He was also the most intimidating, with his bald head covered with what looked like a do-rag with his forehead protector attached to it, as well as large reflective sunglasses preventing Cordi from getting a good look at his eyes. He was also bulky in the muscles department, and his general look reminded Cordi a lot of a less cheerful, more angrily stoic Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. When she saw him, she laughed and said to herself, “Can you smell what the Rock is cooking?” only to earn several confused glances, which she waved off with a small, “Don’t mind me. Just a joke my friends would get.”

Out of all of them, Maki was the most welcoming. She sat with Kankuro and Cordi, and gently tried to prod Cordi into opening up about herself. Cordi indulged her a little, telling her that she’d never been to the deserts back home in her own country, which spawned an interesting discussion. She also talked about her small hometown in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. She mentioned her brother, sister and parents, and her schooling. She explained she had been planning to study law, but had taken several classes like psychology, genetics, and anatomy, which wouldn’t have helped her that much in her final degree.

After a while, Ameno excused herself as the waiter took her empty plate. “I need to check on the dragon’s vitals,” she murmured as she dabbed a napkin along the corner of her mouth.

Cordi shot up at that. “Can I go with you?” Kankuro grumbled she should finish her half-eaten BLT, but Cordi ignored him, already maneuvering out of the booth to join the medical ninja.

Ameno frowned as if she preferred to work alone, but gave a curt nod, and Cordi joined her. Cordi followed her back to the luggage car and took in Aleera strapped down with her paws underneath her, and her wings pressed against her body. A couple IVs were attached to her front left leg, filling her not only with necessary fluids and nutrients, but also drugs to keep her sedated for the ride. Cordi could hear her make the occasional snore as Ameno stepped around the large creature and picked up a laptop. She clacked away at some stuff, Cordi was sure she was just making notes of Aleera’s vitals shown on the computer. A sensor was attached to Aleera’s neck that kept track of her breathing, heartrate, oxygen levels, and blood pressure.

They remained in silence for a while as Ameno did her work, and Cordi worried about her dragon, wondering if Aleera would hate her when she woke. She remembered vividly how that morning, Cordi stood in a clearing next to a gate at the Forest of Death, and mentally called Aleera to her. She petted her head as she told her it was time for them to go, and to be still. Ameno and her team had then shot Aleera with several sedatives, and the dragon collapsed as Cordi cried her apologies over her. She knelt by her head, rubbing her forehead along her scales. They were surprisingly silky if rubbed the right way. She felt guilt gnaw at her heart seeing Aleera in such a state. While she could understand the necessity of drugging Aleera, she still didn’t like it. “How’s she doing?” Cordi asked.

Ameno looked at the fire user with an appraising frown, before stating, “Honestly, I’m not sure. Almost nothing is known about dragons. So anything I could tell you could only be estimates at best.” She sighed, scratching the base of her skull, where her hairline met her neck as she added, “Not to mention, I’m a doctor, not a veterinarian.”

Cordi pursed her lips, understanding the kunoichi’s frustration. Dragons were completely out of this woman’s element. She understood that. But Cordi also got a sense that Ameno was also a bit suspicious of her. Since getting Aleera on the train, Ameno had only regarded Cordi with slightly concealed contempt. Cordi could also understand this. She was a strange woman the Kazekage seemed to trust, even though it didn’t feel like it to Cordi. It was especially strange since nothing was known about her, with her strange powers and a strange beast. She was a complete unknown to them.

But as the guardian of the medical ninja’s current patient, the distancing Ameno put between them was annoying. “Still,” Cordi huffed, chewing on her bottom lip, “What can you tell me?”

Ameno crossed her arms, not looking at Cordi as she grumbled something along the lines of, “No point in telling you.”

“What?” Cordi asked, acting like she didn’t hear the medical kunoichi clearly.

Ameno cleared her throat, then stated, “Her heart rate is steady, at forty-five beats per minute, which according to the Kyoshi family, who I am recording this for and reporting it to in Suna, is standard for a non-aquatic lizard this size. Her oxygen levels are also stable it seems like. And she doesn’t seem to be having any adverse reactions to the drugs.” She shrugged as she went back to her laptop. “Generally speaking, she seems healthy, but given she’s only been under three hours and dragons haven’t been studied before, that could change. I’m scheduled to check on her once an hour for the first six hours, then the rest of the day once every three hours. Tomorrow every twelve.”

Cordi quietly nodded her understanding, placing her hand on Aleera’s brow and petting along her scales as she replied, “Thank you.”

Ameno scoffed, setting her jaw as she took in Cordi petting her dragon. “I should be clear,” Ameno started, stepping towards her and crossing her arms, “I don’t trust you.”

“I gathered,” Cordi half smirked, half sneered. Her remark took Ameno by surprise, and Cordi laughed inwardly. Apparently, she thought she was being discreet.

Thrown off by the comment, Ameno dropped her arms awkwardly, then said, “Well, uhm …” clearly having lost the speech she’d planned.

“I don’t care,” Cordi stated, her dark eyes landing on Ameno’s and piercing into her as if she were staring deep into her soul. “As long as you abide by the same ethical standard doctors are held to in my world, which is that any patient under your care receives the best treatment you can provide. Your patient in this case being Aleera.”

Ameno was taken aback again. “Are you insinuating I would purposefully harm her?”

Cordi stood, her expression candid, “Isn’t that where you were going? You did start out by telling me you don’t trust me.”

Ameno frowned, “It wasn’t exactly.”

“Ah,” Cordi grunted, shifting her stance as she looked away. _But it was close,_ she filled in.

“What I meant to say is I don’t trust you. But Lord Kazekage has given me an order to be the medical ninja of this envoy, and I will follow it to the letter,” Ameno corrected, standing straighter as she said it, puffing her chest a little as well. “And even though I do not understand or yet agree with it, I acknowledge that you have earned Lord Gaara’s trust, and I will honor that.”

Cordi laughed. _Trust._ First Kankuro, now Ameno declared Gaara’s trust in her. It seemed laughable.

“And if you prove to have manipulated Lord Gaara, I will be the first volunteer to take you down,” Ameno finished. She frowned as Cordi’s mirthful smile and chuckles escaped her lips. “What?” Ameno asked, confused by Cordi’s chuckle.

“Nothing,” Cordi replied. “Just first Kankuro, and now you, mentioned Gaara putting his trust in me.” She shook her head as she said, “It just seems funny, because it doesn’t feel like trust to me. And from what I know of Gaara, it’s near impossible to manipulate him.”

She raised an eyebrow at that, then stated, “Clearly it is trust, as there’s no other basis for letting you into our village. It’s especially odd since you clearly don’t give him the respect of calling _Lord_ Gaara by his title.” She shrugged as she stepped closer, then said, “That would suggest you are close to him. Close enough to cloud his judgement.” Ameno brushed past her muttering, “Closer than any foreign woman should be.” The way she said “woman” sounded eerily like the word “whore.” Ameno sneered as she finished, “Maybe that’s something the Council would be interested in.”

Cordi gawked at that as Ameno left the car, shutting the door behind her. She wanted to snap back that it wasn’t friendship that stopped her from using his title as Lord, but habit. That where she was from, all men were created equal under God, and Lords weren’t much of a thing there. But it wouldn’t do any good. She’d long learned people make their judgements, and despite any arguments to the contrary, people would believe what they wanted. And if Ameno wanted to see the Kazekage giving someone special treatment, she would if it fit with the plausible narrative she created.

She set her teeth as she sat back down next to her dragon. No, it was perfectly clear. Suna was not going to welcome her with open arms, but with fake smiles and hidden daggers.

*~*~*

“Thank you for arriving so promptly,” Lord Kakashi stated as the Inuzuka’s made their way to Gate twelve of the Forest of Death. The Hokage frowned as he counted two extra among them, and asked, “You’ve brought Shippo and Mimiko? I thought I’d made it clear this was top secret.”

Shippo was two years younger than Kiba’s mother, and married a Senju woman when Kiba was a toddler. Their marriage had been the only happy marriage he’d observed in the Inuzuka clan, which his mother attributed to Shippo being a complete beta male without any backbone. He was a man who doted on his wife. Shippo had occasionally helped out at the vet, but Kiba’s mom didn’t appreciate his help all that much. He didn’t have the stomach for it, she said. He was much more into breeding and training. He worked with the police force on occasion, but wasn’t a regular officer. In his off time, he ran an obedience school. Kiba had seen Mimiko helping out at the obedience school, and she was usually the one to bring in their dogs if any of them had been injured. She always seemed interested in what went on at the vet, but was always sheepish when Tsume talked to her.

Each Inuzuka brought their dogs. Hana had her three ninken. Tsume had her wolfish Kuromaru running next to her. Kiba had Akamaru galloping along with him. Shippo and Mimiko had their dogs, Hanten and Gine. Hanten was a beagle collie mix with short white fur and large black spots. Gine was a white and gold husky mix with silvery blue eyes.

Tsume crossed her arms as she growled challengingly, “You asked me to bring the tracking devices we put in our ninja dogs.” She jutted her thumb at Kiba’s Uncle Shippo as she stated, “Shippo handles that.”

Kakashi waved her off, muttering, “I guess it doesn’t matter. They’re here now. So it can’t be helped.”

“What exactly is so sensitive in the Forest of Death, Kakashi?” Kiba asked, annoyed his mom woke him up early to help pack all the vet tools, which he then was ordered to cart down here. If he was frank, the Forest of Death was the only place in Konoha he was still uncomfortable being around. It stirred memories of his first Chunin Exam he felt were better left forgotten.

Kakashi’s gaze flicked to him as he said, “I’ll get to that.” He cleared his throat as he turned to the forest and stated, “Two weeks ago, we had some new arrivals from another world enter Konoha.”

Kiba frowned, his stomach unsettled by Kakashi’s tone. “You mean Ronnie Buchanan and her friends?”

Kakashi shot him a discerning look as he asked, “You’ve met them?”

“Ronnie got a job at our vet a little over a week ago,” Tsume explained, shooting her son a rueful expression. Kiba blushed under his mother’s knowing gaze. “But she was fired two days ago for …” she cleared her throat before finishing, “unprofessional behavior.”

Kakashi shot a curious expression at Tsume, then chanced a quick look at Kiba, who was blushing hard and looking towards the treeline. “Oh,” Kakashi grunted. He pursed his lips under his mask, filing Kiba’s reaction to his mother’s statement away. “Well, since their arrival,” the Hokage continued, “they manifested powers and have come into possession of some animals that will need to be studied.”

Tsume frowned. “What kind of animals? Dogs? Cats?”

“Dragons,” Kakashi answered blandly.

Kiba balked at the Hokage’s blunt answer, his jaw hanging open in disbelief. He looked at his sister and saw Hana also had a similar expression, and their mother’s eyebrows were raised to her hairline. “I’m sorry. Did you say dragons?” Shippo asked, his hand raised and the only one who could clearly put thought into words.

Kakashi nodded. “Yes, dragons,” Kakashi clarified. “Hence the status of this mission being top secret.” Kakashi then began to explain that all five girls received dragons, and that one was already headed to Suna from Kakashi and Gaara’s agreement upon the girls’ arrival. He explained that Gaara and his council had already arranged for the fifth dragon to be examined there, with the research they make from studying it being shared directly with the Hokage and the Inuzukas, who were now being tasked with studying the remaining four. “Shikamaru should be arriving shortly with the young women who will take you to their dragons. This mission does not have a set end, as I’ll need you to find and document all you can about this new species. It is also to remain top secret until further notice. No one outside of those designated is to know of their existence. Is that understood?”

Tsume gave a respectful nod first, then Hana, Shippo and Mimiko. Kiba could only manage a vague head bobble of understanding, but was still so confused. Dragons. They were real? And how had Ronnie and her friends kept them hidden from the whole village? He looked at the Forest of Death, realizing how brave they were for sneaking the dragons in there to begin with. Brave or stupid.

Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving the Inuzukas to discuss amongst themselves if they were ready for such a mission or what they thought of the situation. Kiba remained silent, just trying to wrestle his thoughts on how Ronnie could just keep quiet about such a thing with how often they had talked the past week. This was huge. His heart plummeted when he realized this indefinite mission meant he was supposed to be working with Ronnie forever now. He didn’t know if he should feel elated or sick. _Is this what it was like whenever Hinata saw Naruto?_ he mused.

Ever since that day, he couldn’t look at her without feeling some shame. He was an idiot. It was something he reminded himself of everyday when he thought about how things went down. He almost fucked her in a kennel. Where his mom was working, to boot. What was wrong with him? He should have just asked her out. Why didn’t he do that instead? Well, the answer was simple as well as stupid, he realized later. He didn’t want Tamaki hurt seeing him so soon with another girl. It stupid because she would be hurt regardless. He knew she loved him way more than he did her. And it wasn’t right to string her along, knowing one day she wanted to get married and start a family, and he never saw that in the cards for them.

But then, after he blew it with Ronnie, he went and slept with Tamaki, regretting everything. It was another spectacularly bonehead move on his part. He knew it was wrong. He was keeping her on the hook when he knew he needed to let her go. Holding her back as his safety net to bolster him against any hatred Ronnie might harbor for him. But while having sex with Tamaki, he realized he’d rather be heart-brokenly and idiotically pining for a woman who probably hated him than ever settle for Tamaki’s embrace again.

The problem was, whenever he saw Ronnie, he just couldn’t shove down his pride enough to apologize for how he wronged her. And he needed to. He knew he had to apologize for his behavior and his role in getting her fired. But he could never bring himself to say those two simple words when he saw her. He was starting suspect that the reason why he couldn’t was because deep down, he wasn’t truly sorry. He was in love with an angel he didn’t deserve, and he couldn’t bring himself to regret that taste of happiness.

With every passing minute waiting to for the girls to arrive, waiting to see Ronnie again, his stomach twisted, and his heart pounded as his mind swirled. It was torture. Even when Shikamaru came into view, escorting the four otherworldly girls to the gate, before they led them on a hike into the forest. Kiba felt his heart seize when he saw her. He did his best to stay focused on the task at hand, staying as far as possible from her until he could get his thoughts in order. Until he could think of something to say to her. Not just anything to say to her, but the right thing. Whatever would erase the horrible guilt he felt without damning anything they could have further.

Deep in the Forest of Death, not too far from gate twelve at the south eastern border of the forest, where the river forked two to three miles in, the girls greeted their dragons, introducing them to the ninjas. The feathered dragon with iridescent lavender and silver plumage was the first in the clearing. His wings were large, and his feet were scaled. The edge of his tail fanned out with large feathers, likely to help him fly better, if Kiba had to guess. On his head were silver horns just starting to twist up. He belonged to Roxanne, the girl Kiba had heard Shikamaru had recently gone on a couple dates with. Shikamaru stared in resolute awe as she introduced her dragon to him, patting her dragon’s neck as his feathers bristled. “This is Gryffin,” she offered to the ninjas.

At first, Gryffin growled at the intrusive ninjas until Rox said, “Hush. Be nice to our friends here.”

“They took Aleera away,” he growled, his claws digging into the dirt menacingly.

“Cordi was leaving for Suna,” Rox corrected, petting his feathered neck calmingly. “Aleera had to go with her.”

“When will we see her again?” another dragon asked as it made its way into the clearing, her voice more effeminate compared to Gryffin. This one looked like a standard western dragon, with small brown antlers, large leathery wings and iridescent scales. She had a cream-white belly, but was predominantly greenish brown with black markings on her face and down her spine and body that were reminiscent of a python, ending at the tip of her tail where what looked like a large bludgeoning type weapon formed, which was painted in blood. Her coloring was perfect to blend into a forest. If she hadn’t spoken, they wouldn’t have known she was there until she was standing inches from them in the clearing. Her eyes were yellowy green and piercing as the light shined one her, glittering against her scales. Blood dripped from her sharp teeth and chin from this morning’s kill.

Fred stepped forward, reaching her hand out, which the dragon pressed its nose against. “We aren’t sure. But we will,” Fred answered, scratching at her dragon’s nose gently. “I promise.” She cleared her throat, turning to the group as she offered, “Everyone, this is Cherokee. Cherokee, these people are going to help us make sure you all are healthy.”

Kiba couldn’t help himself as the dragon’s gaze roved over them. He gestured to his chin and asked, “Excuse me, but what is that?”

Cherokee’s tongue flicked out for a second, tasting the blood on her chin. She grunted contentedly as she plopped down comfortably, licking at her claws as she replied, “A rather large snake thought I’d make a good breakfast. He was sorely mistaken.”

“Good to know,” Kiba chirped.

Gryffin perked up at Cherokee’s mention of breakfast, and asked, “There was breakfast?”

“Yes,” another dragon chimed, his voice deep and gravelly, sounding ancient and wise. A white dragon’s head dipped down beneath the leafy ceiling. His eyes were silver, matching his whiskers lining his upper lip and jaw-line. His scales shimmered as his body dipped further down, showing his long snake-like body, four small legs that reached for the ground as he stretched down. Silver hair stretched from his brow down to his tail along his spine. “You would have gotten some had you not sprinted off as soon as Aleera left.”

Gryffin bristled. “I did not sprint!”

“Uh-huh,” Cherokee laughed, turning to the feathered dragon with a toothy grin, “Like some love-sick hatchling in spring.”

“I am not love-sick,” Gryffin hissed, stepping toward her menacingly as his wings flapped a little, puffing himself up. “We were in the middle of a fight that she picked when she just flew off. I can’t abide someone leaving in the middle of a fight.”

“Denial is not becoming, Gryf,” the new dragon laughed.

Gryffin scowled at the other white dragon. “Y’know, Saryu,” he growled, “when you use big words, you don’t sound smarter. You just sound like a pompous jerk.” Rox petted Gryffin’s feathers to calm him, and he began to settle. The newer dragon scoffed at the Gryffin’s sour tone as his body spiraled around itself comfortably, resting his head on his shoulder.

Hana stepped towards Saryu, her gaze appraising, as if measuring the dragon with her eyes. “Their vocabulary is astounding. Lord Hokage said they are two weeks old?”

“They hatched talking,” Rox clarified, still petting Gryffin’s feathers along his chest. “Within a few hours, they could speak full sentences without issue.”

“They’re really smart,” Lynne filled in.

“Fascinating,” Hana breathed. She reached out, offering her hand as if to an unsteady horse. Saryu puffed air, his eyes boring into hers. It was a look the girls recognized from Lynne when she read their minds. Saryu was doing the same. He closed his eyes, then nudged his nose forward, connecting with her proffered hand. Hana smiled, and rubbed his nose.

“Alright!” Tsume barked, shifting her weight. “Kiba, Shippo, pick a dragon. We need to get started. Mimiko, prep the trackers.”

Shippo gave a resolute nod, and stepped towards the dragon closest to him, Gryffin. Hana already got to work on the long white dragon Gryffin called Saryu, with Lynne stepping close to her. Tsume stepped over towards Cherokee and Fred, a smirk on her face as if looking at a kindred spirit. That left one for Kiba. He chewed on the inside of his cheek, realizing he’d be settled with Ronnie’s dragon who was yet to appear. He turned to order Akamaru to his heel, only to realize Akamaru was already belly up at Ronnie’s feet. Kiba gawked at his dog realizing that was likely why his family took the other dragons. His gaze scanned back to his family. His mother was focused on looking over Cherokee. His gaze caught Hana’s briefly, and he remembered the previous evening.

Once Hana returned from her mission last night only to be greeted with their mother’s sour mood, Kiba told her about Ronnie’s short stint at the vet. Then his awkward dismissal yesterday, because Tamaki was running a kitten adoption booth at the fair, and he didn’t want to hurt the cat trainer’s feelings showing up with a new girl two days after sleeping with her. Hana listened generously and without judgement, and reserved her questions until the end, of which there were only two: “Does Akamaru like her?” and “Is pursuing her worth the wrath he might incur from their mother?” He answered yes to both, and clarified he’d never felt so strongly for someone before. When Hana looked skeptical, he told her that despite Hinata’s claims of falling in love with Naruto at first sight, he always thought it was bullshit. But after meeting Ronnie he understood. That Akamaru’s dislike of Tamaki made it clear to him that they’d never be anything serious. But with Ronnie, Akamaru acted like he liked her better than Kiba himself. Hana shrugged and said, “Well, maybe Akamaru knows your heart better than you do.” The comment was wise, and he realized he should have noticed that sooner.

“I’ve made a mess of things, haven’t I?” he laughed self-depricatingly.

Hana smiled, giving him a small shrug. “Yes,” she said, “but if it’s meant to be, it will work itself out.” She stood from the table, pausing at the door in the kitchen and told him, “Whatever you choose, I’ll back you up. Mom will come around too.”

Now, Hana petted Saryu as she gave him a reassuring smile, mouthing, “Go for it.”

He chanced a look over to the young woman, feeling sheepish. _“If it’s meant to be, it will work itself out,”_ he heard his sister echo from last night. She smiled back at him, but it was clear there was some hurt glimmering in her eyes. He cleared his throat as he stepped over towards her. “Uhm, hey,” he grunted, scratching the back of his head.

“Hey,” she replied, equally unsteady.

They stayed quiet for moment before simultaneously apologizing, only to stop together to listen to what the other had to say. She let out a small chuckle as he blushed and looked away. “You go first,” she offered, fiddling with her middle finger.

“No, you,” he insisted, shaking his head. “I’m still trying to figure out how to say what I need to say.” Ronnie gave him a pained sorry expression, and he felt his heart sink.

“Ok,” she breathed, crossing her arms and chewing on the inside of her lip. “I wanted to say I’m sorry. I think I came on too strongly and pressured you into an uncomfortable position …”

“No,” Kiba interrupted, stepping closer to her. “You came on just right.” He blushed as he realized what he said, and cursed himself. “What I mean is …” he paused as he licked his lips, finally settling on, “I like you. Like a lot.” He winced as he said it, knowing blunt was probably not the best route to take but he didn’t know what would be better. He awkwardly cleared his throat and looked away with a blush. “I didn’t handle it well. Part of that was timing. Part of it was … I don’t know, I guess I never felt as connected to someone like I did you, and it scared me a little.”

She was blushed and averted her eyes. He thought that was a good sign. He hoped it was at least.

“Can you forgive my idiocy?” he asked.

She licked her lips, then answered, “Only if you can forgive mine.” He frowned at her answer, and she blushed more as she said, “I need to be honest with you. When I came into the vet that day, I did have an ulterior motive for being there other than working for a vet.” He felt his heart skip a beat at her confession. “You were my favorite character from the show. At the time, we thought our stay here was a temporary thing, and I had one goal for while I was here. To have at least one magical evening with you.” Now he was confused. What was she apologizing for? She shook her head as she said, “It wasn’t until talking with Cordi last night on how different things were going to be for her in Suna than she expected did it hit that this is real, and you aren’t just some character from a show. You have a life that I just crashed into and expected everything to go my way.”

Kiba shook his head, still confused. “And?”

She frowned, “And I shouldn’t have pursued you like a piece of meat. I should have gotten to know you beyond what was in the show, you know, as a person, because you’re worth it.”

Kiba stepped closer eying her carefully. He could appreciate what she was saying, but something from her explanation stuck in him. He chewed on the inside of his cheek as he asked, “So, when you say you had an ulterior motive, you mean you didn’t want the job at the vet?”

Ronnie looked down slightly ashamed as she answered, “I wanted a reason to talk to you on a daily basis, with the plan of seducing you.”

“So, you aren’t mad about the kiss?” he asked. It was the one thing he’d been dreading since that day.

She looked over his shoulder towards his family and her friends looking over the other dragons. “If it was just us here, I’d be having my way with you right here right now,” she answered in a quiet tone only he could hear. He raised a curious eyebrow at the statement and she added, “Honestly, I would. And that’s the problem. I’m so physically attracted to you, my gut instinct is to grope you first and ask questions later.” She winced as she said in a slight after thought, “I should note, I’ve never felt like that with anyone. Usually it takes me a little while before I feel comfortable with someone new enough to feel like that. But you, it was immediate.”

Kiba smiled at that, showing off his fangs with a toothy grin. “Me too,” he chuckled quietly. “I’ve never had a girl occupy my thoughts as much as you have since I saw you walk into our lobby the first time.” He chewed his lower lip as he chanced to reach out for her hand, then thought better off it, scratching his head as he stepped closer to her. This was his chance, he realized. “Then maybe we shouldn’t fight it.”

She frowned her shock before a weird, nervous smile came to her face. “Right here?”

“Not right now,” Kiba laughed. “Tomorrow. After the first two rounds of the exams. Let me take you to dinner, and let’s see where the night goes.”

She licked her lips with a small blush as she looked at her feet. “I’d like that,” she answered. She reached for his hand as she said, “I’d like that a lot.”

He could barely keep his heart contained at the contact. He beamed at her, and she smiled back. They smiled at each other for a long moment before Kiba remembered where they were, and why they were there. He cleared his throat, dropping her hand. “So,” he trawled, putting his hand on his hip as he grabbed a notepad from his pouch, “your _dragon_?”

She pointed to a large swell in the river, stating, “She’s over here.” She led him over, as she continued, “Her name is Nessie.”

“Nessie?” Kiba asked.

Ronnie nodded vaguely as she explained, “Yeah. When she hatched, she kind of looked like the Loch Ness monster from my world, which is nicknamed Nessie. But now, she’s looking more like a leviathan.” She knelt by the water’s edge, splashing in is as she called, “Come on, Nessie.”

The water rippled a little before a large dragon head popped out of the water. This dragon was greenish blue with navy coloring down her neck and spine. She had pectoral fins lining her jaw, flexing over her gills, and a dorsal fin on her head, with webbed spinning along her back. She flexed her wings before spreading them over the water. Kiba noticed with their shape, they were ideal for swimming or short flights with a more rotational joint than the others, meaning she could use the wings as additional fins to increase swim speed and make tighter turns. He made a quick note as Nessie looked him and Akamaru over carefully. “So, is this the dog boy?” Nessie asked as she beached herself on the river shore. Akamaru walked over and sniffed her, and Nessie did the same before flicking water at him with her tail. Akamaru yelped and jumped back, causing the dragon to chuckle.

“Be nice,” Ronnie scolded her, finishing rolling up her jeans and wading into the water. She splashed Nessie’s chest and petted her neck scales, earning a contented grumble as she found Nessie’s favorite scratching spot.

Ronnie steadily moved on, pulling water from the river and keeping Nessie’s back splashed to keep her from drying out.

Nessie watched Akamaru as he came back to the river’s edge, sniffing at the water, jumping a little every time she shifted under the water. Her camouflage was pretty good for a water dragon. “He’s not afraid of a little water, is he?” Nessie chuckled, her eyes holding a mischievous glimmer in them as she looked at the older dog.

“No,” Kiba answered, making more notes on his preliminary observations of her. “He loves to swim and take baths.”

“Then can he play?” Nessie asked, inching closer to the dog.

Kiba pursed his lips looking at the dragon, then at Akamaru who wagged his tail excitedly at the water, but jumped when Nessie moved a webbed paw under the water. Akamaru clearly wanted a dip, and was watching Nessie wave her tail playfully before slapping the water. “Only if you don’t eat him.”

“Nessie only eats fish,” Ronnie stated with a smile, still splashing her dragon.

Kiba looked at the dragon appraisingly, then nodded. “Go on, Akamaru,” he allowed with a small wave. The dog barked happily then dove into the water, chasing Nessie’s large whale-finned tail as she splashed him. He’d duck back to land and shake off for a minute before running around to try and get her tail from another angle. How Nessie positioned her body and tail cut off a decent amount of current to create a small pool for Akamaru to play with her in. Kiba chuckled at his dog’s puppy-like playfulness with the dragon. His gaze drifted to Ronnie, who was also laughing and shooting a steady stream of water at Akamaru that he tried to catch with his mouth. She caught him staring, and smiled back at him. _Tomorrow,_ he thought excitedly.

*~*~*

Across the field, Rox stepped away from Gryffin for a moment, seeing Shikamaru smoking a cigarette. She knew that since Asuma’s death he picked up smoking, but it was still weird to see it, and made her a little uneasy. “You know that’s unhealthy for you, right?”

Shikamaru looked at her with dismayed earnest, still holding his cigarette to his lips as he sucked in the smoke and nicotine. He pulled his cigarette away, flicking his ash on the ground before blowing the smoke downwards from his mouth. “Yeah,” he replied, flicking the filtered side to knock some ashes off the end. He flicked it again as he frowned, and said, “I tried quitting when I was with Temari.” He shrugged absently before adding as he lifted the cigarette back to his lips, “Picked it up again when we broke up, so…”

Rox looked down sadly, then said, “I know you originally started because of Asuma.” His gaze narrowed on her considerably, as if daring her to bring him up in a negative light. “And that you did it, in manga at least, when you felt like you needed his guidance or to emulate him.”

Shikamaru pulled the cigarette away, breathing out the smoke again, nodding. She was right. That was why he started. In the year before he and Temari began dating, it became somewhat of a habit. He had pretty much kicked it before they broke up, and now only occasionally needed a drag. He’d taken it down from his half-pack a day habit to just one or two. Usually with his morning coffee and after dinner. But this was his second one today, and he knew he’d probably need another two before he called it a day. And it was for the exact reason she’d just mentioned. He needed guidance.

Rox smiled sheepishly, “Do you think we’ll ever get serious enough where you’d quit it for me?”

He let out a small huff through his nose, realizing that was her flirty way of telling him she didn’t approve. It was fine. No one did. Sometimes he didn’t either. His heart sank as he realized exactly what he’d have to tell her. He was her teacher and team leader now. It wasn’t appropriate. “Rox,” he grumbled, “Given Kakashi’s assigned me as your group’s sensei, I don’t think we can keep seeing each other, anymore.”

She looked up at him with wide, hurt eyes. She hadn’t been expecting that answer. He saw the tears lining her eyes, and looked away quickly. In his periphery, he saw her lips tremble, and heard a small sniffle escape her as she mumbled a small, “Oh.”

He cleared his throat, stepping away from her as he said, “I’m sorry.” He walked away from her, putting the cigarette back to his lips to deaden the pain of his heart ripping itself apart. It was a shame. He really liked her.

Across the field, Fred watched Shikamaru walking away from Rox with a scowl, wondering what he said that made her friend cry. “So,” she heard Lynne drawl next to her, who had apparently just snuck up to stand beside her, “are we just going to pretend you and Kankuro aren’t a thing?”

Fred scowled at her for a second before turning away, and walking over to Rox, who clearly needed a shoulder to cry on for a minute. When she grabbed the wind user’s hand, Rox jolted a little, only to turn and see Fred’s sympathetic smile. Fred pulled Rox into the tree line, and sat her down on a rock. “What happened?” she asked, running her hands through her friend’s raven locks.

Rox shook her head in disbelief, pulling at the amethyst claddagh ring Mr. and Mrs. Turner had gotten her a few years ago. “I don’t know. We just broke up.” Her voice broke and a tear dripped down her cheek as she huffed, “Dammit,” brushing the tear away quickly. “First Cordi, and now …” Her lips trembled hard and she dropped her head in her hands, “I thought he was the one.”

Fred pulled her close, and Rox let her as she cried, hugging Fred for dear life as she sobbed. Fred continued to silently run her fingers through Rox’s hair, letting her oldest friend cry into her chest. It’s what friends were for.


	10. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Warning: Lemons and Limes

**Chapter Nine: First Steps**

Gaara made his way through the Kazekage tower towards the council room. Another meeting on the books. It was sure to be as boring as always. He opened the door, assuming he’d be there before half the council, which he hated. The older councilmen always took forever. If he arrived early, he’d be there first, which he had better things to do with his time than sit and wait for the old coots to get to their chairs. Gaara pushed open the heavy oak doors, and as soon as he stepped in, he was greeted with stares from every council member of Suna. Apparently, Gaara was late. “My apologies,” Gaara offered, finding his usual seat at the base of the previous kages’ statues. But as he made his way over, he noticed just a couple feet behind his chair was a table. Solid wood it looked like. He paused, pointing to it. “What is this?”

“That is for today’s topic of discussion,” Ebiso answered. It was strange. He couldn’t see the elderly councilman, and none of the council members would meet his gaze as Ebiso’s voice continued, “It has come to our attention that even though you’ve attempted to engage in a romantic relationship, you lack the intimate knowledge of how to create a child.”

Gaara couldn’t breathe. “What?” he managed, his voice high and panicked. He hated that.

“Matsuri has given us a detailed report on your relationship,” Ebiso continued. Gaara’s heart sank. Matsuri was a council spy. And she just betrayed him? It didn’t make sense. “And we must say, we have concerns.”

Gaara’s fists tightened at his side as he did his best to remain stoic. _What is the table for?_ Still, none of the council members would look him in the eye.

“We’ve found a volunteer to be your partner for today’s demonstration,” someone said. The voice seemed so far away now.

Gaara looked around aghast at the prospect. “Demonstration?” By that, they didn’t mean …

“Gaara,” a voice said beside him. Gaara turned and saw Cordi standing there, her dirty blonde hair hung straight over her chest and shoulders. Her brown eyes connected with his, and he was frozen in place. Something about her skin and her smile glowed effervescently. And she wore a light cyan dress that clung to her curves in a breath-taking way, and tied itself together at the side.

“Cordelia?” Gaara breathed, his voice still oddly high and breaking on her names middle syllable. He cleared his throat, he hoped not too obviously, forcing his voice down as he asked, “What’s going on?”

“We need a demonstration to see if you can be intimate with a woman,” a councilman stated.

Gaara looked around, searching for the source of this voice, but unable to find it. His heart was pounding with fear at just the thought of what they were saying. He turned back to Cordelia, somewhat baffled. Last time he saw her, she called him a “Heartless son of a bitch.” He was fairly certain she hated him now. And yet…? “You volunteered?” he asked skeptically. “I thought you hated me.”

“I told you,” she said with a bitter patronizing chuckle, an odd smile on her face as she said, “that has nothing to do with this.” She laughed as she tilted her head, adding, “You know, for a kage you’re not that bright.”

Anger began to build inside him. It wasn’t often insults affected Gaara. It wasn’t often insults were flung at him. When they were, he could usually disarm them with a look or quick quip. But Cordi’s insults cut him. He felt their sting right in his heart, like a kunai thrown with deadly true aim. That was it. Truth. When Onohki called him a, “Green Brat,” it was just an old man out of touch with how the world had changed around him, and how it needed to move forward. But Cordi’s words hit him because he recognized their truth, or rather that he feared they were true.

“Are you saying you volunteered even though you hate me?” he asked. Maybe he could learn what drove people to this specific love. What was he missing? “Why?”

She untied her dress as she walked over to him, and he began to bristle with nerves. As her dress dropped to the floor, he could see her breasts, perky and large, and her body curved in all the right places. But she didn’t look sheepish, naked in front of the Council, she looked driven. Her eyes only on him. She put her hand on his chest and he felt like his heart was going to leap from his chest into her grasp. “Because of this.”

Gaara blinked, shaking his head. “That’s not an answer.”

“I told you. He’s emotionally stunted.” Gaara turned, this time seeing his brother, standing off to the side, his arms crossed. Gaara wanted to yell at him avert his eyes from Cordi’s naked form, yell at everyone in the Council to do so, but his voice wouldn’t work. Kankuro continued, “He doesn’t know the first thing about sex.”

“This is one reason why many believe you should be Kazekage, Lord Kankuro,” another voice said. “A man who can relate to everyone, and doesn’t have an issue bedding a woman.”

Kankuro laughed. “Well, that is one place I can agree I don’t have an issue with.”

“You would provide Suna better stability in the long run, with your children to guide future generations.”

“Wait,” Gaara said. He tried to speak loudly once he found his voice, but it was drowned out by the council’s discussion on how Kankuro would make a better Kazekage, given solely on the fact he could fuck a woman without fear. Gaara had never touched a woman. Not really. That kind of affection required a level of vulnerability he’d never shared with anyone. Even after his reformation all those years ago. He wasn’t even sure if he could find that level of vulnerability to achieve that goal without disastrous consequences. He was so terrified of losing himself. The most he’d been able to do was the chaste kisses he shared with Matsuri, and even they required a lot of courage and control from him. He could not get swept up in his emotions. When he did, people got hurt, or worse killed, and things broken.

“From now on, Gaara will stepdown from his role of Kazekage, and Kankuro will take his place.”

Kankuro frowned regretfully, “If you insist.”

“I’M THE KAZEKAGE!!!” Gaara almost yelled. He never raised his voice like this, but no one in the council was listening to him. They wanted stability. An heir. The council kept talking over him, and his sand began to kick up in his frustration.

Until a hand grabbed his wrist. He froze, looking down at it. Cordi was still staring at him with a heated intensity he didn’t understand. “You’re no leader to them,” she scoffed. His heart dropped at her declaration, again hearing its truth. “You have no real power over them.”

“Shut up,” he growled.

“You’re just a kid they gave the title to, to prevent another village ending tantrum.”

“Shut. Up.”

“You’re no Kazekage.”

He shook with rage at her smirking smug face. He wanted to kill her. His sand snaked around her, covering her naked body. She laughed as he clenched his fist, growling, “Sand Burial.” The sand didn’t crush her, and she continued to laugh. She pulled her arm out, and with a touch it fell away, revealing herself to him again. He was powerless against her.

“You don’t really want to kill me,” she smirked. “Do you?” Had it been another life, he would have. He would have tried his hardest to kill her. But she was impervious. He couldn’t kill her. His heart pounded in his ears with fear and trepidation. She laughed at his impotence, and he felt rage building in his gut. He couldn’t kill her. He could, however, make her pay for her words, and she needed shutting up. Lust after all was a concept he was well acquainted with. Bloodlust that was. But maybe regular lust wasn’t so different.

She opened her mouth to say more hurtful words and his mouth connected with hers. She couldn’t use her mouth if he was using it for her. He pushed her around to the table as his hands roved over her body, squeezing her breasts and not caring to be gentle. Just the sensation of taking over her mouth made his heart pound with excitement, and he felt his member growing, straining against his underwear. His sand snaked around her limbs holding her prone on the table as his clothes seemed to melt away as his body pressed against hers.

The room had gone silent, and began to darken, only illuminated by her glowing presence. _“I’m the Kazekage,”_ he declared as his sand pulled her into position for him on the table. He didn’t look at the Council as he said it, because her body had him mesmerized. Her skin was so soft under his fingertips. Her breasts spilled in his hands as he kneaded them hungrily, biting his lip and wondering what it would feel like to sink his teeth in her flesh. He squeezed her breast tighter, surely bruising her skin as he declared, “And I will do anything to prove I was the right choice.” His eyes connected with hers, and he saw the fire roaring within her. Fire that begged him to be snuffed. “And if that means fucking you…” She bit her lip as his grip on her breasts tightened, and his hips connected with hers just to taste the friction his baser instincts were begging for. Her hands reached up to him, and she arched her body to meet his. He wanted it. To torture her with such a pleasuring invasion. To see her eyes roll to the back of her head as he had his way with her. He bared his teeth as he huffed, “… then so be it.”

His member hardened almost painfully as he watched her lick her lips with anticipation, as if she was calling his bluff. _I’ll prove her wrong. I’ll prove them all wrong._ He pushed her legs open, then guided his groin to hers, searching for the balm to ease its dripping anguish. “Please,” she moaned, not sure if it was with desire for him to release her or for him to use her for his darkest desires. He’d never felt such need in his life. To impale her on his member and feel her quiver against him. His sand tightened its hold. He had to. To remain Kazekage, he had to fuck her. And he wanted to. His body was desperate to. He pushed his length into her with little resistance, and she let out a pleasured moan as he skewered her to the hilt. It felt torturously good, her essence throbbing around him. His sand shifted around energetically. The feeling only improved when he slid out of her, then back in. His gaze focused on Cordi as he pushed into her again and again, seeing her eyes screwed shut and her mouth hung open and panting in ecstasy. There was a sense of accomplishment growing in his heart at the vision of her. She was enjoying herself, despite his rough use of her. Experiencing this pleasure … because of him. “Oh, Gaara!” she cried. Her pleasured screams triggered something in him. He was like a beast now, his body moving of its own volition as he felt a clenching and building of pressure. His body was chasing this feeling down, hunting its release. “Gaara! Ah! Gaara! GAARA!” _There. He was almost THERE!_

There was a pounding on the door, breaking through his haze. “Gaara? Gaara, is everything ok in there?” someone called out. It sounded like his sister.

Gaara’s hip thrusting slowed and he realized his eyes were screwed shut. He opened them, breathing hard from his body’s exertion, expecting to see Cordi under him, only to realize he was under blankets, his legs tangled up in sheets. As his thrusts slowed to a halt, he looked around, taking in his location with confusion. He wasn’t in the council room. He was in the sleeping quarters of his hotel suite. The room was covered in sand that had been sitting in his gourd. He adjusted his position, and at the movement, felt the unmistakable wetness around his groin of pre-ejaculate. He grimaced as he realized he was harder than his usual morning stiffness. “Ugh, dammit,” he cursed, getting up.

It had been years since an issue like this had happened. Back when Shukaku had first been pulled from his body and he was recovering from his death. Sleep was somewhat new for him, as were the nightly emissions or sexual dreams. He had read about them before, in the book Kankuro gave him, so it wasn’t like he didn’t know what had happened. But it was still embarrassing. He was just thankful that it was a rare occurrence these past four years.

He had dealt with the random erections that popped up during puberty when he was still a jinchuuriki. Before the Konoha Crush, he’d dealt with them by taking a cold shower or killing someone who looked at him funny. After vowing to change his ways, and he’d changed to a regular infantry team to gain more trust in the people of Suna before becoming the Kazekage, it somehow came up in a conversation he overheard between his teammates, and one of his subordinates mentioned the difficulty he had at sneaking away from the team to jerk one out if necessary. Finding out it wasn’t just him gave him the courage to mention the issue to Kankuro to get some suggestions on how to handle it, and what the hell it was. He’d never forgotten the face Kankuro made when he asked.

_Kankuro’s eyes went wide, and his fingers froze, almost dropping his tools in his puppet. His dark eyes flew to Gaara’s sitting next to him. His expression was a mix between shock and horror. It was a rare moment where Kankuro wasn’t wearing his purple make-up, and Gaara saw the tinges of pink rising to his brother’s face. His wide eyes never wavered from Gaara’s, breaking contact only to blink a couple times._

_Gaara gave a small gulp. Had he said something amiss? He still wasn’t used to talking so plainly with his siblings about such topics._

_Kankuro let out a small nervous laugh. “A-are you telling me … th-that Dad … never …?” Kankuro trailed off, while Gaara remained resolutely stoic. Kankuro frowned at his own question. “Right. Why would he?” Kankuro took a deep breath, turning his chair towards his brother, and bracing himself by placing his hands on his knees. He looked at Gaara, his face going red as he looked at his younger brother. Gaara could practically see the words running through his mind, “Where do I begin?” Kankuro puffed out his cheeks, then let out the air through pursed lips. He cleared his throat, then asked, “S-so, how much do you know about …” he made a motion with his hands as if trying to find the words before settling on, “you know…”_

_Gaara’s gaze narrowed in confusion as Kankuro eyed him carefully. After a long, silent moment, Kankuro huffed, “Right. Well, uuuhm …” Kankuro’s eyes looked off as he chewed on the inside of his cheek. “You … you remember when your voice went from ‘Up here,’” he held his hand up high as his pitch went up, then down low as he continued, “to ‘down here,’ over night?”_

_Gaara frowned, but nodded. It was when he was twelve, and they had gone out on a mission to the Land of Cliffs, not far from Ishigakure. One of their first missions. He thought his throat was just sore, but Baki had pulled him aside and told him that his body was going through some changes. “Baki said it was because my body was changing.”_

_Kankuro’s eyes lit up with relief. “Right. This is one of those changes.”_

_Gaara frowned further. He couldn’t help himself from asking, “Why?” These changes seemed so illogical._

_“Uh,” Kankuro hummed, scratching his cheek. “Well. All these changes make it possible for you to …” he paused again to find the right word, “… to procreate.”_

_Gaara blinked at his older brother. He had a vague sense of what his brother was talking about, but wanted to be sure. “By that you mean…?”_

_“You know, banging someone,” Kankuro answered before Gaara could finish his question. Gaara still scowled in confusion as Kankuro offered some more euphemisms, “Screwing? Making love?” Gaara’s eyes flew wide at such an unexpected answer, and Kankuro pursed his lips, muttering, “Not like that,” as if he read Gaara’s mind. Kankuro let out a sigh, and added, “It’s what you do with the person you’re in love with.”_

_“Love?” Gaara asked._

_“Very **specific** Love,” Kankuro clarified quickly, gesturing with his hand and leveling Gaara with a stern look to emphasize how “specific” he meant. It hadn’t even been a year since the Chunin Exams, and Love was still an unknown concept to Gaara. Kankuro rubbed his fingers together as he winced, trying to think of the right words. “You know, when a man and a woman are in love. They … **have sex** …” Kankuro shuddered as he said it, seeing his little brother blushing more and more. He cleared his throat as he finished, “to make a baby. You know what I’m talking about right?” Gaara frowned, his lips pursed as if not entirely certain. Kankuro remembered something, and laughed, “Oh, remember those two dogs we saw that first night in Konoha when Baki was checking us into that hotel?”_

_Now Gaara really frowned as he asked, “The two that were fighting?” He remembered the bigger dog tackling the smaller dog and biting its neck._

_Kankuro laughed. “Yeah, except they weren’t fighting.” Gaara looked at his brother weirdly as Kankuro clarified, “They were **having sex** to make puppies.” He shuddered as he added, “Men and women do the same thing, especially when they want a baby.”_

_Gaara’s expression fell to abject horror. “You don’t mean Mother… **and Father** …” he trailed off, getting a mental image of his parents he did not want to see. “… **did that** ,” he finished with a croak. The pursed expression Kankuro gave him told him that was exactly what Kankuro was telling him, but Gaara couldn’t believe it. “No,” he said, shaking his head. “That’s …” Gaara kept shaking his head trying to find the words as the mental image of the dogs and exactly what they were doing stuck in his brain. It was disgusting. “No one would do that.”_

_Kankuro made another wincing face as he confessed, “Well, I’ve done it.” Gaara gaped at him as Kankuro shrugged with a wistful smile as he added, “It actually felt pretty amazing.”_

_Silence hung in the air as Gaara tried to puzzle together everything his brother was saying. Kankuro didn’t add anything, knowing his brother was working it out in his mind before asking anything else. Any addition he could give would only confuse Gaara. Gaara cleared his throat awkwardly before he asked, “Aren’t you a little young to be having a baby?”_

_Kankuro eyes flew wide at the question. “What?” He did his best not to laugh at Gaara’s earnest and worried expression. “No, people do it to feel good. I did it because it’s fun, feels great, and is kind of a rush. But doing it has risks, like making a baby or contracting STDs, but there are steps you can take to prevent that. But it **is** the process to make a baby, so...” Gaara was now frowning hard, clearly incredibly confused. Kankuro pinched the bridge of his nose as he let out a sigh. “God, this is gonna’ be awkward. And I am probably the worst person to be having this conversation with,” Kankuro muttered. “Hell, Dad wasn’t that good at it. He just gave me a book, and told me to ask him questions.” Kankuro sat up, and hit his hand as if struck by an epiphany. “Actually, I think I still have that book.”_

_Gaara opened his mouth to tell Kankuro that wasn’t necessary, given the mild horror of the topic he had already been subjected to, but Kankuro was already standing, and rushing over to his nightstand. Once he found it, he held up the book victoriously in his hand. It had a white cover, and in big, bold, bright, overlapping pink and blue letters, “Human Sexuality: From Puberty to Reproduction.” It was rather large, like the textbooks from ninja school on the history of the world, and thick too. Kankuro walked over to Gaara, the book outstretched in his hand._

_“Here,” Kankuro grunted, handing Gaara the book. Gaara took it warily. It was a heavy book, and he sat it in his lap._

_He eyed it carefully, then opened the cover, flicking past the long table of contents to the first chapter. “What is Sex?” it read in big bold letters. Gaara blushed as he read the first paragraph silently. “Sex. It could easily be argued that it is the most pivotal thing to the survival of the human race. Even the mention of it makes people stop and listen. But when approached with the question, ‘What is Sex?’ it’s not the easiest thing to explain. The simple definition is: ‘the act of intercourse between two (or more) people.’ But that is hardly an answer. Is it solely the action of intercourse? Is it the creation of new life? How does it work? What is consent? And why is it all important?”_

_Kankuro nudged Gaara towards the door, forcing the younger brother to close the tome, and saying, “Trust me when I say I’m saving us both a painfully awkward conversation. So, just go to your room, and read that. If Temari sees it, she might be inclined to tell you about the book Dad gave her, and believe me when I say you’re better off not knowing. And if you have any questions afterwards,” Kankuro looked at Gaara seriously as he finished, “ask Baki.”_

_Gaara turned to look at his brother confused, and let out a small, “But …” but Kankuro had already shut the door. Gaara pursed his lips, looking at the book cover carefully before taking it back to his room to read._

There was another knocking on the door. “Gaara, are you ok in there?” Temari called out. When Gaara didn’t answer immediately, Temari huffed, “Alright, I’m coming in.”

“No,” Gaara answered quickly, and a little loudly in his opinion, sounding a little distressed. He cleared his throat as he added reassuringly, “Everything is fine.” She was the last person he wanted seeing him like this. Other than maybe Cordi. God if she knew what he had dreamed of last night. He scowled at the wet stain in his pants, cursing to himself that he’d have to quickly clean it up. He heard the door handle jiggle, and he immediately threw his sand up to seal the door. “Don’t. I’m about to get in the shower,” he lied. Although, was it really a lie now that he _had_ to take a shower?

The handle stopped jiggling, and Temari called out from the other side of the door. “Alright. I was just coming to tell you we are expected at the tournament grounds in an hour.”

“Thank you,” Gaara replied, starting to get undressed. He thanked the stars that he’d had the forethought to not wear pajamas last night, and settled for just his boxers. He reached over into the ensuite to start the shower.

Gaara tested the water, finding it was warm enough, and he stepped in, letting the water wash over him as he let his mind wander. He tried desperately not to think about the dream by focusing on rinsing his hair and body, or lathering in soap. But his thoughts kept wandering back to it. _Why her? Why Cordi?_

He understood the other half of the dream. There were many people, even some in the Suna Council who believed Kankuro was a more stable fit for Kazekage. The most recent coup attempt had been during the arranged marriage meeting that ended up imploding spectacularly. Kankuro never supported these groups, and definitely had no intention of pursuing the title. But Gaara wasn’t ignorant to them. He also knew it was only a matter of time before the Council arranged another marriage for him. He was staving them off with his relationship with Matsuri. But he knew it was only a matter of time.

Since the first marital surprise, he’d had many dreams where the Council had arranged for him to marry some kunoichi. They always ended poorly when he’d show up to the marriage meeting. Sometimes with his teeth falling out. Or his clothes disappearing. Or his voice not working. The worst was when he dreamed his sand would start acting of its own volition, and destroy the meeting. One dream, his father showed up and forced him to fight him.

But this was the first dream where the Suna Council of his subconscious demanded he bed a woman. Not even bed. It was intercourse with her on a table under the watchful eyes of the council members, his brother, and the kage statues, including his father, so they could observe if he could perform when married. And he did it. _What is wrong with me?_ he wondered. On top of that, the woman in question was Cordi. A woman he was certain hated him at the moment, since he sold out her and her friends’ secret. He’d done it as a staunch ally to Konoha, but he still betrayed her confidence.

It also wasn’t like he cared about her opinion of him. While she was pretty, and her figure was attractive, and she sometimes had her moments, like the evening with the cookies, for the most part, Gaara thought she was annoying and abrasive. She had a knack for saying the absolute wrong thing. Not to mention she wore her emotions on her sleeve. And she had no problem expressing her negative opinions about him. He could count on one hand the amount of people who have called him an asshole to his face. One. And her name was Cordelia Turner. And she’d done it multiple times. He’d killed people for less.

The words, “You heartless son of a bitch,” from yesterday rang in his head, and he braced himself against the shower wall, feeling an odd bevy of emotions from it. The outright fiery contempt in her eyes when she said it leveled him and seared into his soul. It was the same glare from his dream last night. If he closed his eyes, he could see her clearly standing naked in front of him as she spat her venomous words. Something about her eyes caught him though. It struck him and made him giddy and warm at the same time. It made her … beautiful. Despite her anger, he could see there was a burning passion there that moved his heart and stirred his already aching loins, and he chewed his lip guiltily as his hand traveled to his member of its own accord. He remembered how she insulted him in the dream, and how rough he was with her as he began to stroke himself. His eyes screwed shut to see the vision better. The image of her prone beneath him, screaming his name as he pushed inside her flooded his mind. He wanted to punish her while reaching his sweet release. He began to imagine violating her in other ways he’d read about in the Make Out Tactics series. And it felt good to see her that way. Under his thumb, punishing her and bending to his every whim. Having her on her knees and making her gag on his member plunging deep in her mouth and throat.

At some point, though, in the middle of her sucking on him, there was a shift in the dynamic of power. He wasn’t giving her punishing blows anymore, but she was controlling him, making him beg that she kept doing what she was doing. Promising he would move heaven and earth if she kept licking his member like that, and looking at him with her intense dark eyes. “You’re a sick fuck,” he heard her say between licks. He nodded his agreement as his pleasure mounted. At this point he’d agree with anything she said. “You’re disgusting for wanting this.” Again, he nodded.

He was gasping for air as he felt himself getting closer to his peak, and he whimpered in his vision, “Please don’t stop.”

She smirked at him, and purred, “Pathetic.”

The sensation around his member tightened as his hips moved involuntarily as he felt the familiar sensation of building pressure leading to a final release. “Cordi,” he gasped as he came in spurting jolts. The sound of his real voice shocked him out of his vision, and he took a sharp focusing breath as he opened his eyes, his hips slowing their pace as reality crashed around him. He wasn’t in his office with his engorged member halfway down Cordelia Turner’s throat as the fire user sucked down his seed. No, he was in the shower with his dick in his hand whimpering for her when she was a thousand miles away, and hating him all the while. He closed his eyes, quickly finding the vision of her again, but it was like waking from a dream. It wasn’t the same before as he finished himself. He sighed wistfully as he began to clean himself off and made sure the evidence of his lust washed down the drain, shaking his head as let go of himself as his mind raced back to the realms of sanity, questioning what exactly was wrong with him. Cordelia was off limits, even for him. She wasn’t a ninja, and despite her strange powers, he likely couldn’t have her like he imagined, for many reasons.

But the question remained. _Why her?_

After some deliberation, he decided it didn’t mean anything. The dream was just his anxiety of seeing the Council again. The vision just now was just some residual feelings from a fucked-up dream. They meant nothing. He rubbed the water away from his eyes as he finished up. He quickly got dressed and ready, then stepped into the lounge, where Temari was waiting with their morning tea and toast. He sat down, drinking his tea and eating his toast quietly. “So,” Temari sighed, “Did you have a good night’s sleep? Any interesting dreams?”

Gaara paused mid bite as he thought about answering. She was only making polite conversation. The image of Cordi from his dream flashed in his brain again, echoes of her screaming his name as he had his way with her rang in his ears. He cleared his throat before replying, “No.”

*~*~*

July fifth was a beautiful day in Konoha. The sky was bright blue, dotted with a few clouds. A gentle breeze danced through the green leaves in the trees. And everyone was making their way towards the Chunin Exam tournament grounds. The four remaining girls of the Odd Squad, as they used to call themselves, followed the massive crowds of ninja and civilians alike.

“There it is,” Ronnie cheered as the stadium came into view. It was a large white building, reminiscent of the football stadiums back home, but the seating area was thankfully covered with a red roof. It was different from the one Naruto first fought in with Neji way back when, but Rox had reminded her on their walk earlier that Pain had destroyed that one.

Fred eyed her little sister oddly, and remarked, “You certainly seem chipper.”

“That’s because she has a date,” Lynne commented. Ronnie cleared her throat reproachfully, and Lynne raised her hands in surrender. “Sorry. You’re just practically screaming your plans at me with your excitement.” The mindreader shot her a knowing smirk as she added, “You’ve also got your makeup and hair done, and you’re wearing a sundress.”

Ronnie looked at herself, noting her spaghetti strapped, white and light blue checked sundress that only came to her mid-thigh, highlighted by her white espadrille sandals. And her medium brown hair was pulled back in an elegant half pony-tail. And yes, she had meticulously applied her makeup to the appropriate level of daytime ease to nighttime dramatic, since she would not have a chance to change her makeup between the tournament and her date with Kiba.

She compared her own looks to the rest of her friends walking with her. All of them wore basic t-shirts and shorts, except Lynne who was wearing capris. Both Fred and Lynne wore basic daytime makeup, while Rox wore none, although it wasn’t that noticeable under her large Jackie O’ style sunglasses. Both Fred and Lynne had chin-length hair, so while Lynne had only brushed her wavy red hair, Fred had pinned back one side of her dark brown tresses with bobby pins. Rox had her black hair braided as usual. Both Rox and Lynne wore silver and gold gladiator sandals, while Fred wore plain white keds.

Yes, she did look rather fancy compared to them. But she was going on her first official date with the Kiba Inuzuka. It was a special moment. And she’d be damned if she didn’t dress well for it.

As they got in the stadium, Lynne began to purse her lips and huff impatiently. “What’s wrong?” Rox asked, noticing the psychic’s discomfort.

“Oh,” Lynne grumbled, “I just forgot to use the bathroom before we left …” She paused, the rest of the group stopping with her as she scanned the crowd. Her eye caught some leaf ninja in uniform watching the crowd, and she walked over towards them, waving back at her friends and calling out, “I’ll catch up with ya’ll later.”

Before any of them could go after her, they heard a familiar voice call out, “Hey! Look who it is!” They turned to see Naruto walking in with Temari, Gaara, and an unrecognizable Suna ninja. Fred visibly soured seeing the Kazekage while both Rox and Ronnie tried to give the group friendly smiles. Naruto quickly took a count of the girls, and asked “Where’s the rest of your group? Weren’t there five of you?” He nudged at Rox as he asked, “And what about your boyfriend? Couldn’t get his lazy butt down here to join you?”

“Well, Cordi was sent to Suna prematurely yesterday,” Fred answered, deftly steering away from both Rox’s and Temari’s awkward reactions to the knucklehead’s question, glowering at the Kazekage, who only regarded her coolly back.

“Oh,” Naruto replied awkwardly. The tension and animosity in the glare Fred was sending Gaara was impossible not to notice, even for the usually clueless knucklehead.

“And Lynne’s in the bathroom,” Ronnie added quickly, jutting her thumb over her shoulder, clearly trying to segue. Naruto made a weird face, clearly not sure where to go with that information, but Gaara looked mildly relieved.

Fred ignored her sister’s attempt at amiable discourse, crossing her arms as she squared her stance against Gaara, her forest green eyes boring into his, “Just so you know, Gaara, we’ve decided to forgive you this time. _But_ if anything bad happens to Cordi, just remember we have four …” she paused, realizing Naruto wasn’t in the know about the dragons, so she substituted, “ _Spyros._ ” Gaara raised a hairless eyebrow at that. Fred glowered more as she snipped, “You _know_ what I’m talking about. I’m just saying we **_will_** _use them_. Understand?”

Temari stepped forward, a forced smirk on her face as she said, “I don’t think you should be threatening the Kazekage.”

Fred smiled back at the wind kunoichi in much the same way as she said, “Oh, no threat. A promise. She’s not just our friend, she’s our sister. And we’ve entrusted her to you and your siblings while we’re here.”

Gaara cleared his throat, silencing Temari before she could argue anymore. “I promise,” he stated, “Cordelia is in good hands. I can understand recent events may make you question that. But I assure you, she will be well taken care of.”

Fred looked to Rox as if to ask if that was enough, and Rox gave a small nod. “Well, alright then,” Fred stated.

Gaara pursed his lips, then grumbled a small, “It was nice to see you, Naruto. Temari.” He bobbed his head towards the Kage box seats before turning to leave. His older sister followed after him.

As the Sand ninja left, Naruto scoffed at the girls, “I don’t know about you, but Gaara isn’t a someone to be enemies with. So, I’d think twice about threatening him.”

Again, Fred said, “It wasn’t a threat.”

Naruto rolled his cerulean eyes. “Still…” he mumbled, pocketing his hands. He frowned his confusion before he asked, “What’s a _Spyro_?”

Before anyone could think of a good answer, they heard someone call out, “Hey! Look who’s all here.” The group looked up to see Kiba with his large dog Akamaru, Hinata, and a man wearing his forehead protector like a doo-rag, dark sunglasses, a gray trench coat, and a serious scowl walking towards them together. Rox and Ronnie realized it must have been Shino, but Fred had no idea who it was. But it was clear that Kiba was who had called out, leading the ninja team. He wore a tight black t-shirt under his grey sweatshirt, and his hair was brushed for once.

Ronnie flicked her hair away from her face as she chirped, “Hey.” She was interrupted by Akamaru who came bounding up to her as she greeted the dog ecstatically as she asked in a babying voice, “And how’s my best pupper!?” scratching him where his jaw met his neck.

Naruto turned and beamed at the Hyuga heiress. “Hinata! I was wondering when you’d show up.”

“Oh, Naruto,” the dark-haired heiress said, her voice breathy and high. “You didn’t have to wait for me.”

Naruto waved her off before putting his arms around her shoulder and pulling her close, “Of course I did. Who else am I going to sit next to?” He kissed her forehead, earning weird glances from Kiba and Shino as Hinata’s face grew really red.

Kiba blinked at the couple before pointing at them and asking, “I’m sorry. Are you two … _together_?”

“OH!” Ronnie cheered excitedly, her fists under her chin as she beamed at the ninja couple. “Please say yes! Please please PLEASE!!!!” Akamaru reached a paw up to pull one of her arms down for more pets, which she readily gave.

Naruto looked at the otherworldly girls, seeing both Rox and Ronnie looking equally as hopefully at them as Fred rolled her green eyes and suppressed a scoff.

Hinata blushed more as she tried to pull away, saying, “I-it’s still really early …”

“Our third date is tonight,” Naruto stated, his grip tightening on her shoulder. She placed her hand over his, and their fingers intertwined as she smiled up at him optimistically.

Both Ronnie and Rox gave a loud verbal cheer, shocking the ninja as they pumped their fists in the air and began a weird hip-bump handshake as they chanted, “We called it! We called it!”

Kiba and Shino smiled, and Kiba punched Naruto friendly in the shoulder as he laughed, “You dog! Congrats!”

“It is about time,” Shino added, his voice deep and gruff.

“What are ya’ll so giddy about?” Lynne asked as she walked back towards the group.

Ronnie pointed a finger at the new couple as she howled, “They’re together now. Pay up!” She stuck her hand out as if expecting payment as Rox did the same.

Lynne eyed them skeptically, her blue eyes then landing on the taken aback couple. She pursed her lips and narrowed her gaze as she asked, “Are you two really dating?”

“Yes?” Naruto more asked than answered.

“Yeah!” Rox laughed. “So, pay up!”

Lynne shook her head. “I don’t think so. The bet was if they end up together. Y’know, _married_.”

Both Ronnie and Rox shot her outraged jaw drops. “You cannot re-neg based on that,” Ronnie declared, Rox nodding in agreement.

“We said endgame,” Lynne stated with a shrug.

Ronnie set her jaw, then asserted, “Ref call.”

“I’ll call Cordi,” Rox sighed, fishing in her purse for her phone.

Lynne shook her head. “No, Cordi was in on the bet, so she’s automatically biased. Fred?”

Rox quit fishing as the group turned to Fred expectantly. Naruto scoffed, admitting, “Fred was the one who set us up.”

“Really?” Hinata asked, a little disappointed.

Naruto scratched the back of his head nervously as he said, “Well, she supplied the drink and suggested I ask you out.” Hinata’s brow furrowed with worry as he pulled her aside, saying, “But that was it. I’ve had a lot of fun these past few nights, and I’ve realized I really like you.” He lifted his hand to her cheek in a tender moment, and she just leaned into it. “Come on. Let’s go find a seat,” he offered, grabbing her hand and nudging his head towards the other direction. Hinata nodded, and readily followed him.

Lynne shook her head at the ninja couple, turning to her friends before walking off, “Shit’s rigged.”

“Oh, come on,” Rox huffed, following after her.

Ronnie sighed as Fred shrugged and began to follow their friends off. Kiba wrapped his arms around her shoulder, and said, “Let them go. Plus, I wanted to introduce you to Shino.”

“So, this one is Ronnie?” Shino asked, a little skeptically.

Kiba nodded, smiling down at her. Ronnie offered her hand as she said, “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Mmhm,” Shino exhaled through his nose before giving a small nod, then turning and walking off, muttering, “Looks like I need to find myself a seat.”

Ronnie pouted at the dismissal. Even Akamaru grumbled disapprovingly. “It’s ok,” Kiba said, rubbing Ronnie’s shoulder. “He probably just feels like a fifth wheel with Hinata and I sitting with dates.” His arm dropped to her waist as he pulled her closer to him, which she felt totally comfortable with. “He’s probably also little jealous I’m on a date with a girl as pretty as you.”

Ronnie smiled up at him before standing on her tippy-toes and giving his cheek a kiss. He blushed at the public display, as she grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the stands. “We need to find some seats. It looks like they’re about to start.”

*~*~*

“Well, that was a bust,” Temari grumbled as she set her fan against the wall as she and Gaara entered their suite. Gaara just grunted his response, clearly distracted about something as he sat down, crossing his arms. She rubbed at her neck as she added, “I mean, all of them out in the first round.” She placed her fists on her hips as she huffed, “We probably have to crack down on training. Next Chunin Exams, one of our teams _has_ to make it to the semifinals. Otherwise it just makes us look bad.” She let out a long sigh, dreading the work that meant for her, since she set up the training requirements for each Suna genin team to even qualify for exam admission recommendations. “What do you think, Gaara?”

She was answered with silence.

She frowned, turning to her little brother who seemed fixated at a spot on the floor. “Gaara?” Again, he didn’t answer, clearly distracted by some worrying thought. She frowned, and slumped down on the couch next to him, breaking his focus. “What’s wrong, Gaara?”

Gaara shook his head as if to say, “nothing,” but Temari held up a finger, clearly not buying it. “You’ve been weird all day,” she pointed out. “What’s going on?” When he didn’t say anything, she asked, “Does it have anything to do with the girls threatening to attack us with their dragons?”

He pursed his lips, then answered, “I betrayed Cordelia and her friends’ confidence. I can understand their bitterness, despite it being necessary to keep them all safe and together, like they wanted. But that doesn’t make it any easier to go home and face Cordelia.”

Temari pulled at the hem of her skirt as she thought about it, her brow furrowing into a frown as she suggested, “Well, you know, you could just set her up in the ninja dorms, so we’re not _living_ with her.”

Gaara frowned at his sister’s answer. “Aren’t you two friends?” Gaara asked, his tone laced with confusion.

Temari pursed her lips before looking off to the far wall as she said, “Well, I thought they all were. But friends don’t date a friend’s ex behind their back, or keep that information to themselves. So…”

Gaara looked at her with pity. He couldn’t imagine how betrayed she felt when she found out about Shikamaru moving on. He sighed through his nose, then stated, “Well, regardless of our feelings, the Council has made it clear they want me to keep notes on Cordelia, and seconded my original offer for her to stay with us. So, until new information comes to light, she’s with us.”

“Good ol’ Council,” Temari scoffed, shaking her head.

Gaara gave a small shrug, then added, “Plus, she did apologize when you found out. And it seemed as if they were trying to protect you from that.”

She shot a weird look at him. “And now you’re defending her?” He tried to shake it off, but she smirked, pointing at him accusatorily. “You like her, don’t you?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Gaara quickly dismissed, standing up. “I just think it’s best we don’t go into our new living situation with hostile feelings between us.”

The blonde kunoichi shot him a rueful look as she grumbled, “Yeah right.”

He decided to ignore the comment as he moved towards his bedroom. “Come on. The train to Suna is in a few hours, and we need pack.” She rolled her eyes and did as her little brother suggested. None of the Suna team made it into the semifinals for the tournament tomorrow, meaning they had to leave before then.

*~*~*

The Konoha evening air was a welcome atmosphere as Kiba and Ronnie walked the streets of the ninja village after what Ronnie would consider an amazing date. After the tournament they went to eat at Kiba’s favorite burger joint, where he learned, much to his delight, Ronnie could wolf down a double bacon cheeseburger. She was also quick to slap his hand away when he would try to steal a fry. As they walked around, Ronnie began to shiver, and Kiba gave her his jacket without breaking stride, mentioning he liked how she looked in it. They discussed hobbies, pets, goals, and lastly family as they continued their late-night stroll. Currently, they were discussing Ronnie’s siblings, which Ronnie supplied several anecdotes that made Kiba happy he only just met Fred at the tournament.

“That can’t be true,” Kiba laughed, rolling his eyes as they walked up the stairs to Ronnie’s front door. Akamaru steadily padded behind them, enjoying the scratches Ronnie was supplying his head with.

“My brothers are super protective,” Ronnie explained, earning a grumble from the dog as she pulled her hand away. She scoffed and gave his ears another scratch as she said, “You are such a glutton.” Akamaru panted happily, and Ronnie rolled her eyes, crossing her arms, earning another grumble that she ignored as she added, “Both Landon and Garrett can be a bit much.”

“But to take you boyfriend on a hunting trip to threaten to murder him?” Kiba chuckled. “He didn’t see that coming?”

Ronnie giggled, “I didn’t say he was smart.”

Kiba let out a loud bark of a laugh. Ronnie pulled him close, holding up a finger to his lips as she whispered, “Sh. It’s midnight, and if you wake up Rox, she _will_ murder us.” She couldn’t help but chuckle as she added, “She gets scary after midnight.”

“Scarier than your brothers?” he asked, one eyebrow raised coyly. He was leaning closer to her, and his breath puffed against her fingers, seizing her heart with anticipation.

“Way,” Ronnie replied with a giddily.

He grabbed her hand, pulling it away from his lips as he leaned down, “Even if I did this?” He pressed his lips against hers in a tender kiss. He inhaled her scent deeply they lingered together, pulling apart only an inch as he looked deep into her eyes, seeing her pupils dilated as she opened her eyes to stare back at him.

Kiba was surprised Akamaru hadn’t grumbled at their PDA, but was instead panting happily and wagging his tail, looking out over the town.

Suddenly, she smirked. “They’d only be scarier if we did this,” she breathed, before seizing his lips hungrily, pinning him against her door. She licked at his lips, and he let her in, his eyes fluttering closed as his arms encircled her waist. His tongue beckoned hers in as he tasted her, pulling her tightly against him. One of her hands found its way to his hair at the base of his skull, sending shivers down his spine. One of his hands drifted from her waist to her ass, cupping and squeezing her clothed cheek. He thought he felt something interesting under the thin fabric of the dress, but she pushed him away by his chest and chirped, “Maybe we should go inside.”

He cleared his throat, grumbling a small, “Yeah.”

Quickly, she reached around him for the door. He moved to lean on the door jamb as she unlocked it and opened it. He watched her, seeing her flick her hair in frustration at her key as she mumbled, “Oh, come on.” He didn’t say anything, enjoying the smell of her pheromones. Being and Inuzuka, he had a much stronger sense of smell than most. And the smells she was giving off were incredibly enticing. But he was patient as she worked with her door. Finally, it opened, and she huffed, “Jeez.” She gestured for him to enter first, and he moved to do so, only to be stopped by Akamaru barreling through.

“Akamaru!” Kiba growled. The watched from the doorway as Akamaru found Ronnie’s bed, hopped on and curled up comfortably. “Akamaru,” Kiba huffed, “you can’t just …”

“It’s fine,” Ronnie interrupted, pulling Kiba inside along with her. “Let him have the bed.”

Kiba looked at her, and his heart warmed, seeing her smiling at Akamaru sweetly as if he were her dog. Tamaki would have never allowed such a thing to happen. Her bed was for her cats, and if Kiba was spending the night, Akamaru had to sleep outside. That was why Kiba didn’t spend the night all that often with her. He shook his head, realizing he shouldn’t be comparing Ronnie to Tamaki. Tamaki was ancient history. Ronnie was where he wanted to be.

He looked around the small dorm, and said, “So, this is it?”

“This is it,” she answered, giving a pursed nod. She gestured around the one room apartment, save for the bathroom, as she said, “I’ve got a small kitchen, a study area, dresser …” She chuckled as she added, “a bed as Akamaru has found, and a bathroom. All anyone needs to survive”

Kiba took it all in. It was quaint and cozy. He looked at the bed and frowned, seeing Akamaru easily took over half of it. “It’s not that big a bed, is it?”

Ronnie shrugged as she replied, “I don’t think Kakashi was planning on us having any overnight visitors.”

Kiba smirked. “You hear that, Akamaru. Don’t get too comfortable.”

“Oh, I didn’t mean …”

Kiba grinned at the nervous water user. “I’m just kidding,” he laughed. She visible relaxed, blushing a little. He noticed some framed photos on her desk, and he stepped over to look at them. One photo was of Ronnie holding a calf and feeding it milk from a bottle. Another was of her and her friends, most of which he met this morning, but the fifth he didn’t recognize. He assumed that was Cordelia, whom she’d told him stories about over dinner. Ronnie and Cordelia were wearing strange black robes and hats with tassels. “What’s going on in this one?” he asked, pointing to it.

She stepped over, looking at the photo carefully before stating, “That was my graduation. About a month ago.” She paused, frowning in thought as she sighed, “God, that seems like a lifetime ago.” She grinned as she added, “I had these photos saved on my computer, so I went and got them printed after we were here a week, and Cordi got those videos.”

Kiba frowned. “What videos?”

Ronnie shook her head, waving it off. “It doesn’t matter. The videos just said we were going to be here a while, so I figured I might as well make my dorm as homey as possible.” She gestured around the apartment at little nicknacks, throw pillows, even a rug. She shrugged, fidgeting with her middle finger. “It’s not much.”

“I like it,” Kiba said with a sincere smile. The dorms had been supplied with the bare essentials, he knew. He’d been to Naruto’s apartment a couple times when they were younger. That boy didn’t buy anything but plants and ramen. So, Kiba knew what a bare bones ninja dorm looked like. For having been there only two weeks, Ronnie had managed to get enough things to transform the space from cold dorm to something liveable.

He turned back to the desk, moving to the next photo. Ronnie asleep on the couch, a black Labrador curled up in her legs with its head resting on her hip, and a white and gray spotted cat curled up in the hollow curve of her stomach with Ronnie’s arm draped over it just barely. Kiba grinned at that. In all honesty, Kiba liked cats. His mother hated them, which is why he’d never owned one, but he thought maybe when he moved out, maybe he’d get one. That is if Akamaru didn’t mind. Akamaru and Tamaki’s cats didn’t get along, which didn’t bode well for that idea. But seeing a picture like this, a big dog and a cat snuggled up to sleep with the same person, gave him hope. “Who is this?” he asked, picking up the photo.

Ronnie stepped over to him, leaning against his arm so he could feel her figure under her dress as she pointed out, “Well, obviously that’s me. That’s my dog, Zues, and my cat, Vexnord the Destroyer of Worlds.” He frowned at the cat’s full title, as she laughed, “We just called him Vex for short. And no, he doesn’t actually destroy worlds.”

“Good to know,” Kiba commented, still looking at the photo appraisingly. “So, how did you get them to sleep so close together?”

Ronnie shrugged. “I didn’t. I fell asleep watching a shark week marathon, and they decided to snuggle. Mom saw us on the couch, and grabbed the camera.” She sighed reminiscently as she added, “But Zues and Vex always pal around. I think it’s because when we got Vex, he was tiny, and Zues was immediately protective of him. When the other two cats picked a fight with Vex, Zues always came in to back him up.”

“Hmm,” Kiba mused.

“Oh!” Ronnie gasped, leaning back towards the desk and picking up another photo. She held it up to him, and Kiba saw Ronnie standing next to her sister, Fred, and behind them were two tall men. Both were muscular and their dark brown hair was buzzed short in almost identical fashions. One was wearing what had to be a military uniform from their world, if Kiba had to guess. The other wore a black t-shirt that said Frederick County Police Department. Between the two men stood an older version of Ronnie, only an inch taller than her. “This is my family.” She pointed each of her siblings out. The way she talked about them made her glow with happiness and fond memories. Kiba could practically feel the warmth of her love for them radiating off her.

The man in the uniform was Garrett, the other was Landon. Kiba had to admit, they did look intimidating. The story she had told him about one of her exboyfriends suddenly made some sense, but at the same time, Kiba was fairly certain he would not be compelled to answer “yes,” if they asked him to go on a hunting trip with them alone. He’d also been through a war, so he wouldn’t be so easily intimidated.

She took both photos from him, setting them back on her desk as she trailed off, “Sooo…” She pursed her lips in thought.

“You miss them?” Kiba asked, watching her carefully.

She rubbed at her neck as she sighed, “Yeah.”

He gave a small pout, not able to imagine what it was like to lose his whole family. He’d lost his Dad, and that was difficult enough. He noted her father wasn’t in the photo, and he got the feeling that she also grew up under a single mother. “And your father?”

She licked her lips, smiling painfully as she said, “Uh, he died.”

Now he felt like an ass.

She cleared her throat as she continued, “My parents were already separated at the time. I was fourteen, and he was driving home from dropping us off back with my Mom when …” She choked up, clearing her throat and blinking back tears as she said through a pained smile, “Sorry. I don’t usually talk about it.”

“It’s ok,” he replied quickly. “You don’t have to tell me.” His heart ached for her, but also warmed, feeling a sort of kinship with her through that pain. They were the same. Except that his father was still alive, just unreachable and wanted nothing to do with him and Hana. Might as well have been dead. “My father isn’t around either,” he said. She pursed her lips like she knew, but didn’t say anything, tearily looking away. He licked his lips, reminding himself he was a tv show character in her world. He’d likely mentioned it in the show. He grabbed her shoulder gently, massaging it gently as he asked, “Is there anything I can do to help?”

She looked up at him, her eyes shining. She stepped closer to him as she asked, “Kiss me?”

He obeyed. His fingers drifted up to the base of her skull, tilting her head up as he leaned down, gently placing his lips on hers. He inhaled her scent deeply as his tongue darted into her mouth to taste her, and she seemed to melt into him. His other hand trailed back down to her butt, wanting to knead its plush shape as her arms wrapped around his neck and shoulders. He gave her one hard squeeze and she gasped, pulling herself up and pressing into him. His hand dropped down from her head to her chest, palming her breast through her dress, and as his thumb flicked over the mound he realized she wasn’t wearing a bra. He kneaded her ass with his other hand, feeling under her thin sundress before he began fisting it to see if his suspicion was right. As the skirt of her dress pooled at his wrist, he got a handful of her bare ass. The pheromones from her hair filtered into his senses, and the smell of her sex starting to pool hit him. He broke their kiss momentarily, still hovering millimeters from her as he caught his breath and said against her lips, “You aren’t wearing any underwear.”

She gasped for air against him, a smile curling on her lips as she replied, “No, I’m not.”

He groaned against her lips as he kissed her, “Oh, fuck.”

She giggled at that as he swept her back up in a kiss, this time, maneuvering her to lean on the desk, kicking the chair out of the way. He easily spread her legs to nestle between them as they showered each other with kisses. His fingers pulled her dress straps down, freeing her breasts before he kissed his way down, making sure each inch of her skin was caressed by his lips. Her chest heaved to greet him with every one of her gasping breaths as she reached to run her fingers through his dark tresses, holding his head close to her as he kissed down her breasts, steadily making his way to her nipple.

They were perfect and rosy. His mouth covered one as his hand covered the other. He sucked on it gently, lovingly, relishing the feeling of his tongue caressing such delicate flesh, as his thumb flicked over the other nipple, and his ass-bound hand snuck its way from behind towards her folds. His gaze flicked up to watch her as he treated her nipples with such tender care, savoring the ecstasy evident on her face as her eyes rolled up and her mouth dropped open as his lower finger found her vagina and ventured in. She gasped quietly, clearly trying to stifle a moan as his finger swirled around and his tongue continued its ministrations on her nipple. She fisted his hair as he slipped a second finger in her, feeling how wet and ready she was for him. He could smell how much she needed him. Saw how she bit her lip at the pleasure he was giving her.

His mouth dropped her breast, and she let out a small whimper until she saw him kneel in front of her and felt his lips kiss her knee, then inching slowly up her thigh as his fingers retreated from her cunt. She leaned back against the wall as he began to kiss at her folds, and she reached over to the photo of her family and set it face down before running her fingers through his hair as he pulled her skirts up well over her lap to let him get a good view of her sex. First, he ran his tongue up along her folds, earning a shiver of pleasure from her. He growled heatedly, his tone laced with a groan as if he were feasting on the tastiest meal in the world. Then with his hands, he pushed her folds apart, exposing her dripping honey pot to him before diving in, his tongue delving into her core a few times before licking her up to her clit. Her fingers tightened to a fist around his hair as he licked at her, her other hand finding the edge of the desk and clenching against it tightly. His tongue was relentless with its lovemaking, and she quickly found herself grinding against his face, pressing his head against her groin as she panted from the passion he was giving her.

She’d never experienced oral sex like this before. She’d definitely never experienced being fucked silly by a man’s tongue. But here Kiba was, throwing every notion she previously had about the act out the window as his mouth made her feel more than she’d ever felt before. She felt an odd tightening in her abdomen that she’d never felt before, like a spring coiling tighter and tighter with every lick and nuzzle he made. It was becoming untenable as he continued and the pleasure spring coiled tighter and tighter until she realized a little too late that she was about to have her first orgasm and moaned out, almost inexorably, “Oh, Kiba, I’m…” Suddenly the coil snapped, and a rush of endorphins shot through her, silencing her brain with fireworks as her body clenched and spasmed around him. It was only after the endorphins released her brain did she register the pleasured groan escaping her throat, only broken by her panting. He was still eating away at her, licking up all of the juices pooling out of her.

Kiba pulled away with a smirk, lips shining from lingering sex. “Did you enjoy that?”

She could only whimper a small, “Fuck,” in reply as she tried to catch her breath. And he laughed.

With a grumble, Akamaru jumped off the bed and curled up by her throw pillows next to her dresser. Kiba scoffed. “Looks like the bed is free.”

All Ronnie could manage was a small, “Uh huh.”

“Come,” Kiba demanded, swooping her up and dumping her on the bed. He began to undress quickly as she tried to gather her wits. Once naked, he laid on top of her, nestling himself between her legs.

“Kiba,” she gasped as he began to kiss along her collarbone and his hands began to caress any piece of skin they could grab. “I’m not sure I can hold my legs up.”

He kept kissing her, easing her dress down to expose her breast better to lick at them again. “Do you want to try Doggy?” he asked.

She paused, biting her lip as he sucked at her, then answered, “If it means the same thing here.”

He paused, his hand caressing her ass as he said, “You on all fours, me coming in from behind.”

She nodded, pulling herself up as she removed her dress, exposing herself completely before assuming the position. “Go ahead,” she said, presenting herself ass end up as she fisted her pillows underneath her face.

He caressed her ass again before planting a small kiss on her outer cheek before positioning himself. She realized she didn’t even look at his size or girth, and realized she’d just have to be surprised as she felt his tip rub against her entrance. She tightened her fist, bracing for the pain she’d experienced several times before. He slid in with ease, despite his clearly thick member stretching her and pressing deeply in her, making her gasp a mix of surprise and lust. She guessed it was easier this time because he’d made her come already, but he was one of the larger she’d felt in her, and he felt amazing as he kneaded both of her ass cheeks as he slowly pulled out, then back in. Soon, he found a steady rhythm of riding her, and she found herself pushing back to help him dive deeper with every thrust. But, when one of his hands wound back around her hips to her clit, her brain short-circuited as she cried out, “Oh, fuck.” His finger rubbed circles around her clit as his pace began to pick up a little, making that little coil reappear in her abdomen, slowly tightening with growing desire. She heard the headboard hitting against the wall, and while a part of her felt guilty about not being considerate for her sister next door, the part ruling her brain at the moment was humming with deafening pleasure, focusing only on the feeling of Kiba pounding into her.

His finger began to slow as he rasped, “Mm, Ronnie.” It was fine, she was getting close from him reaching deep into her and pounding against her g spot, which he was also the first to discover. She arched her back and pushed against him hard as the coil began to crack and then burst again, flooding her body with ecstasy as she let out another guttural groan, her fingers stretching out and clenching tightly.

The walls of her cunt spasmed around his member, and his eyes rolled back at the sensation, his fingers digging into her ass cheeks with bruising intensity as he barked, “I’m going to go,” before jack hammering into her until he found his release. They held their position as he pumped his essence into her and he grumbled, “Fuck. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to go in you.”

She laughed, performing a well-practiced maneuver to slide off his dick and slump onto the bed below. “It’s ok,” she stated, rolling on her back to look up at him. She tapped her left arm as she added, “I have a birth control implant in my arm. So, I’m good for three years.”

Kiba slumped next to her, clearly relieved as he said, “That’s good to know.”

She smirked as she watched him, clearly worn from their activities. She reached over, fingering his hair, which looked odd without his headband. “You aren’t going to sleep, yet, are you?”

“Why not?” he asked. “It’s late, and we’ve got stuff to do in the morning.” He adjusted to place them under the sheets, then sidled up next to her to hold her close, his arm draping over her so comfortably. “If there’s time tomorrow morning, we can try the shower, ok?”

Ronnie pouted, wishing she could have him one more time. But he was right. The rest of the tournament was tomorrow, not to mention they were supposed to talk to Shikamaru about when he was going to be testing their skills. Personally, she’d prefer to sleep in and have sex with the dog trainer holding her so perfectly. She snuggled against him, resigning to sleeping next to his naked form for the night. It was enough to sate her lusty hopes for the evening as her exhaustion suddenly began to catch up with her. Yes, she would sleep with him tonight. And the next night. And the next night if possible.

*~*~*

Fred first woke with her sister next door moaning, “Oh, Kiba. I’m – AH… aaaaAAAAaaaahhhh. Mmmmmmm.” Ronnie’s voice was whiny and full of lusty need. Fred set her jaw slightly annoyed her sister had to carry on in such a way. But after a long moment of silence, she was sure that was it, and went back to sleep … until … Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

Fred’s eyes snapped open as the steady thumping against her headboard wall slowly began to get louder. She frowned as she twisted her neck to look up, focusing on the noise. It was only when she heard a guy groan, “Oh, Ronnie,” through the wall that Fred sat up, eyes wide as she made a weird face at the wall. She had been trying to sleep. Now that was shot. She got up and grabbed her pillow, still in her tank top and satin booty shorts she wore for sleep in the summer, and padded out of her room.

She walked over to Rox’s room on the other side of her dorm, and knocked on the door. “Rox!” she whispered loud enough for Rox to hear her through the door, but not enough to wake up anyone else. “Hey, Rox, open up.”

On the other side, she heard the locking mechanisms shift open before Rox opened the door, rubbing her eyes. “What?” the wind user grumbled. “It’s after midnight.” Rox always had a thing about getting to bed by midnight. And if someone tried to keep her up past it, they better be ready to meet her wrath. But with Ronnie getting her rocks off, rather loudly in Fred’s opinion, next door, it was worth the risk.

“Can I sleep in here tonight?” Fred asked, hugging her pillow to her. “Ronnie’s with Kiba, and they’re being loud.”

Rox’s eyebrows shot up and she looked down the balcony towards Ronnie’s door as they heard her call out, “Ah, Kiba!” Rox frowned disappointedly, then sighed as she opened her door wider to let Fred in.

Fred shot her a pursed smile as she walked over the threshold, muttering a small, “Thanks.” She placed her pillow down by Rox’s footboard and crawled into bed facing the opposite way, with Rox right behind her facing normally. Over their decade long friendship, they’d figured out the most comfortable positions to sleep in when sharing a twin bed from their probably couple hundred sleepovers. This was no different.

Fred smiled as a thought came to her, and she nudged Rox with her knee gently as she chuckled, “At least I can count on one neighbor not having loud sex.”

“What?” Rox asked, sounding a little insulted by the jab.

“Because of the abstinence until marriage vow you and Cordi made,” Fred clarified quickly, realizing Rox probably thought she was referencing the break-up. She mentally berated herself for not being clearer. It was something they always joked about when Fred’s, Ronnie’s, or Lynne’s sexual exploits came up. That Rox and Cordi wouldn’t know what they were missing until they were married, and it was too late.

“Oh,” Rox muttered, realizing her over-sensitivity. She fiddled with her amethyst claddagh ring as she mumbled a small, “Right.”

They were silent for a moment, until Fred asked, “Does it still count if we’re in a world where Christianity doesn’t exist?”

Rox frowned at the question. “What?”

Fred flipped, propping herself up a little to get a good look at her friend as she asked, “Well, you know, you and Cordi made that vow because of that church youth group thing.”

Rox chewed on her lip, remembering making the vow with most of her youth group after there was a hard push from the parents at church for a Christian sponsored sex ed course, which ended up led by her grandpa. This all stemmed from a crazy youth group camping trip that ended with two girls getting pregnant, not to mention a few STDs. Mr. and Mrs. Turner bought their daughters rings to commemorate that vow and act as a reminder. Rox continued to fiddle with her ring as she frowned, and asked, “And?”

“And,” Fred added with a small head bobble, “You made the vow to a God that doesn’t exist here. Or at least to a religion that doesn’t exist here. So is it still valid?”

It was a philosophical question. Rox shifted to look at Fred, thinking hard on that answer. “I don’t know,” she confessed. She fiddled with her ring more as she thought about it. She still had the ring, though. She tilted her head with a wince as she added, “I think so. The vow wasn’t just to God, but also to my parents and myself.”

Fred pouted, then shrugged. “Shame,” she sighed as she flopped back onto her pillow.

Rox scoffed at her oldest friend, nudging her shoulder with her foot as she said, “Go to sleep.”

“I’m trying, but you’re kicking me,” Fred joked, nudging her back.

“Don’t start,” Rox laughed, flipping over to get comfortable.

“Start what?” Fred yawned. “I’m trying to go to sleep.”

Rox let out a small snort, then shifted her shoulders one final time before drifting off to sleep.

*~*~*

It was July sixth, around four in the afternoon when Cordi got her first glimpse of Sunagakure. She had gotten to know each of the ninja escorting her and Aleera rather well over the two days they had been riding. Of course, her teaching them the card game UNO, which she carried around in her purse for trips, as well a couple regular decks of cards, got them to open up to her. Especially when Kankuro drew most of the deck looking for a yellow or a two, only for her to see he had picked up a wild early on, to which Cordi had to inform him of the “you draw the card, you keep the card,” rule. Kankuro wasn’t a fan of her after that, but Maki, her cousin Ketteimaru, and Koji who had been playing with them were.

So when the village came into view, Maki came over to Cordi, her expression beaming with a proud smile, and asked, “Do you want to see your new home?”

Cordi nodded eagerly, and followed her upstairs to the lookout area, only available in the Daimyo’s car. It had taken Cordi a while to get used to the desert horizon of the Land of Wind. But ahead, a large, majestic wall of sandstone and limestone rose from the sand along towering cliff-faces. The only comparison she could make were the photos her parents took when they took a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and took a picture by the old city wall, but even that paled in comparison as the train got closer. The Suna Gate was solid stone, not cobbled like the ancient biblical cities she was used to, and it shone with the different types of stone in the afternoon sun.

Kankuro came up behind her, and asked, “So, what do you think?”

Only one word came to mind when Cordi laid her eyes on if for the first time. “It’s beautiful,” she gasped.

She saw a small cave that looked like a smaller version of the main gate carved to the right side of the stone wall that the train tracks led into, and as the train pulled close, Kankuro ushered her back down the stairs, telling her, “You need to grab your bags. We get off first.” She did as instructed, making sure all her bags were together, and she was ready to move into the new city.

The train came to a stop as it pulled into the cave, which turned out to be a well lit train station similar to the one in Konoha, and was attached to the main gate by a fenced balcony. She stepped off the train, mesmerized as she took in the new train station. The walls along the gate were adorned with different stores and restaurants with a large lounge area shaded by palm trees surrounding a fountain. It reminded her of the fountains at home, at the mall she used to go to with her family and friends. The only difference was there was a stark lack of pennies. She found herself mesmerized by the water sparkling over the pure blue tile.

“You a fan of fountains?” Kankuro asked, standing behind her as he watched her oddly.

She shrugged as she said, “Sure.” She reached down to disrupt the water’s ripples by adding her own. “It’s just there’s no money in it,” she finally commented.

He frowned. “Money?”

“Yeah,” she replied wistfully. “Back home, it’s tradition to make a wish and toss a penny in a fountain. Supposedly, your wish will come true or it’ll grant you good luck, or sometimes just means a safe return home.”

Kankuro opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by a man calling out, “Lord Kankuro! Welcome back.”

Kankuro turned quickly, and smiled. “Councilman Toska. What a nice surprise.”

The man in question wasn’t much in the way of looks. He wasn’t tall, and wasn’t short. He looked to be in his mid-forties, and had a pudgy face, narrow black eyes, and black hair that peaked out from under his head wrap. He wore the moomoo-esque robe Cordi recalled was somewhat standard for the Suna councilmembers from the comic. Behind Toska were several other adults dressed incredibly similarly, to the point Cordi realized each and every one of their welcoming party were Suna councilmembers.

She bristled, remembering the crimes she knew they did from the comics, reminding herself not to trust any of them. Despite their smiling faces that seemed kind, a pit of dread welled in her stomach as her mind rang out, “Do not trust them.”

“You must be Cordelia,” Toska said with a slight tilt of his head. “We’ve been looking forward to meeting you.”

The sirens going off in her brain made her not register the words coming out of his mouth until Kankuro nudged her and cleared his throat. “Uh, yeah,” she grunted, blinking herself out of her stupor. She cleared her throat as she remembered what Kankuro said the first day on the train. _“The opinions they make of you then will seriously impact what happens to you once Gaara comes back.”_ “I mean, yes, I’m Cordelia Turner,” she corrected herself. She stuck her hand out, and asked, “And you are?”

The councilman frowned at her hand, slowly taking it as he said, “Councilman Toska.” She gave him a firm handshake, and he raised his eyebrows.

Quickly, she moved to the next one, steadily introducing herself to everyone. Councilman Ebizo, whom she remembered from the show, Councilman Riku, Councilman Reo, Councilwoman Haruko, Councilwoman Mai, and finally Councilman Kiyoshi. She hoped she made a good impression on each of them, but the vibe she got from them each was so drastically different. Ebizo was by far the oldest. He had long eyebrows that looked ridiculous in real life and the top of his head was wrapped in a cream-colored turban. His face was spotted and wrinkled with age. And even though his thick eyebrows overshadowed his eyes, his pursed lips told Cordi he seemed to regard her with faint curiosity.

If Cordi had to guess, Mai was maybe second oldest, maybe ten years younger. She had long peppered hair, and wrinkled dark brown eyes. She was petit but clearly deadly. And she clearly didn’t like Cordi. Reo also seemed slightly stand-offish as well. He was less aggressive with his glowering than Mai. Councilwoman Mai didn’t even accept her handshake, and looked as if Cordi had offered her a dead rat laced with the Black Death. Reo seemed more skeptical, as if trying to assess if Cordi either was a threat or represented a threat that needed elimination.

The rest, Riku, Haruko, and Kiyoshi, each regarded her with eager curiosity, and possibly hope. Kiyoshi was a man in his mid to late forties. She could tell by the graying in his beard and reaching towards his temple with the rest of his hair a nice chestnut color that he pulled back into a manbun. His brown eyes glittered with excitement. As she shook his hand, he introduced himself, “I’m Lord Kiyoshi, leader of the Tokage Clan. I look forward to working with you and your beast.”

Cordi wasn’t sure she liked how he said, “beast.” “Dragon,” she corrected. She cleared her throat, realizing she sounded a little harsh. “And her name’s Aleera.”

Kiyoshi nodded with an acquiescing smile. “Aleera,” he repeated with a slight nod. He stood straight as he added, “My clansmen are seeing to moving Aleera to her new habitat as we speak.”

“I think Cordelia would like to get settled in before getting down to business,” Kankuro cut in. “It’s been a long journey.”

“Of course,” Kiyoshi quickly replied. “That would grant us some time to measure the dragon and look over Ameno’s notes before we pull her out of her coma, which we’ll need Cordelia for to keep the beast calm.” The Councilman was pretty much directly speaking to Kankuro, making Cordi feel left out of the conversation as he continued, “We’ve prepared Oasis Cavern in the Northern wall for the dragon’s new habitat. Hopefully, that will be sufficient.”

Kankuro frowned, “Oasis Cavern? Is that where your family keeps its larger lizards?”

Kiyoshi nodded. “We moved our Komodo dragons from there to a new habitat a few months ago with the plan to start breeding crocodiles. So far, we only have the one, who will be the dragon’s roommate, so to speak. He’s a large crocodile named Kuishinbo. He does speak, and is known to be a little territorial, but he shouldn’t be much of an issue.”

Cordi opened her mouth to ask a question as Kankuro spoke over her, “I sure it’ll be fine. If you’ll excuse us, we need to get settled in, then around six or seven we’ll swing by the cavern.” Kankuro grabbed her shoulder and began to guide her away as she started, “B-but …”

“First impressions,” Kankuro hissed at her as they walked away.

Cordi scowled as she let him lead her away. “And? I greeted them each respectfully with affirmative handshakes.”

Kankuro raised an eyebrow at her. “Addressing the council-members rather aggressively and without honorifics, not to mention correcting minor verbiage slip ups? That’s respectful where you’re from?”

Cordi blinked at him confusedly, shaking her head, “What? No … I …”

“Look, Cordi,” Kankuro cut her off, guiding her into the village. “They’re ninja, and your friendly display isn’t so much as a comfort as it is a blatant refusal to acknowledge their status in the village.” He shrugged as he continued, “It might work on Gaara, who believes titles and honorifics are just distancing bullshit. But the majority of people in charge here see what you did as a serious sign of disrespect.” He paused as they reached the staircase looking out over the eastern half of the village from the opening of the East Gate.

Cordi froze, taking it all in. The village was gorgeous. The structures reminded her of the pictures Lynne took of the city Santa Fe when she went there for her older brother’s wedding. The adobe structure to the buildings, accented by wooden beams jutting out to support the ceilings and roofs. The golden sandy buildings juxtaposed against the sapphire blue sky and starkly white clouds that swept across it was oddly breathtaking. Along the walk ways, she could see a few palm trees, a few bushes and shrubs. Pops of greenery among the sandy streets. From the anime, you couldn’t tell. But standing in the village, Cordi had to admit that Sunagakure was oddly vibrant, more than she would expect from a desert dwelling ninja village.

Kankuro cleared his throat, garnering her attention as he smirked back at her. He’d already started down the staircase into town, only to stop half way when he noticed she still stood at the top. “You coming?” he asked.

Cordi took another look at the city, hope replacing some of the dread she’d been feeling since getting on the train. A small smile found its way to her face as she whispered, “Yeah,” then she took her first steps into Suna.


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten: Reconcile**

Over the years of watching Naruto, Cordi had always wondered where exactly the sand siblings lived. It was never really shown, and Suna, besides being the second most featured ninja village in the series, was actually rarely featured. So, when Kankuro led them to the Kazekage tower, and showed her that the topmost floor of the tower was actually a penthouse apartment for the current Kazekage and his family, she was surprised. Kankuro mentioned that when they were younger, Kankuro and Temari lived with their father in the penthouse while Gaara stayed with their uncle in a house their father bought closer to the school and hospital where Yashamaru used to work. There was also apparently some ancient estate on some oasis on the outskirts of the city that the siblings only used for mainly vacations, but was frequently used to house noble guests if they were visiting the village.

Anyway after Yashamaru’s death, Gaara moved into the penthouse with them for a few months until an incident between the two brothers led their father to place Gaara back in the house, which was when he hired Baki, the previous leader of the Suna Anbu, as Gaara’s second guardian effectively. For obvious reasons, Gaara didn’t bond with Baki as he had with Yashamaru, but the jonin proved to be capable in handling the young jinchuuriki’s outbursts, which was why he was named as their team leader when Gaara became a genin. He was also considered the Fourth’s right-hand man after Yashamaru. Even after their first run in with Naruto, Gaara remained at the other house until their father’s body was discovered and Orochimaru’s full crimes against Suna were understood. The Suna Council announced their plans on finding a new Kazekage immediately for Suna’s security, while also issuing Temari and Kankuro with an eviction notice.

That was around when Gaara was searching for a new purpose in life, and decided to help his siblings and strengthen their bonds, he would save them from destitution by becoming the fifth Kazekage. Kankuro mentioned that he thought it was a long shot, given Gaara was only thirteen and most of the village was still terrified of him. Gaara shared his new goal with Baki, who supported him whole-heartedly. Being a councilmember as the previous head of the Anbu and the Fourth’s right-hand man, Baki was possibly the best person to recommend Gaara to the Council for the position. The Council accepted Baki’s recommendation, but pushed for Gaara to prove he could work with others outside of his team and lead them. He was put on another ninja team for basic missions and asked to teach at the new academy that Tsunade was helping setup as a sign of forgiveness for the village’s actions against Konoha at the Chunin Exams. Temari and Kankuro’s eviction notice was put on hold, and after a year and a half of Gaara’s hard work, he earned the title Kazekage. He’d already moved into the penthouse a year before at his siblings’ request.

Kankuro told Cordi they felt bad that Gaara was doing this for them, while they still distanced themselves from him. So they asked him to move in, allowing him to pick either of the remaining two rooms, other than the master. Gaara agreed with them that their father’s room should be left untouched. Gaara picked the only bedroom with an ensuite, which sat on the opposite end of the hallway Kankuro’s and Temari’s rooms sat.

The room Cordi was given sat directly between Gaara’s room and Kankuro’s room, smack dab in the middle of the hallway. In total, the penthouse has five bedrooms, and three bathrooms, of which one bed and bath set was totally unused, as it was the master’s suite, which door sat opposite Gaara’s. Gaara’s room had the only other ensuite, meaning she was sharing the last bathroom with Kankuro and Temari.

As she woke the morning of the seventh, she was greeted with the smell of eggs, bacon and toast. She pulled herself up, taking in her new bedroom, which she was slowly moving into. She’d unpacked her hang-up clothes items into the wardrobe in the corner, while her open bag of dresser clothes had been tossed in the opposite corner under the big portal window, which gave her a good view of the northeastern skyline. Her room wasn’t super large, at least in comparison to her bedroom back in Virginia. It was just big enough for the full bed, a wardrobe and a dresser with a mirror. The furniture was all beige or off-white. The comforter and sheets on the bed were white linen. The walls were sandy stucco, and the floors were sandstone tiles, which were covered by a large creme area rug. There was also a door, leading to her very own deck, but she had yet to really check that out. It looked walled off from any other deck, if there were others.

She snagged a sweatshirt to make sure her braless chest was better covered. Especially with the village being so cold in the morning. Honestly, she was shocked at how cold it was in the morning. She did her best to suppress the goosebumps that raised her hairs on her arms as her foot contacted the tile, and the shooting a chill up her spine. She pulled he sweatshirt on as she made her way out of her room down the hallway that curved around to the main living area where the pleasant aroma’s drifted from.

She stepped out of the hallway and into the kitchen where Kankuro was dishing eggs to two plates already dressed with toast and bacon. He smiled as his dark eyes landed on her bedraggled form. “Morning, Sunshine,” he said chipperly.

She only grunted in response as she grabbed a stool at the island bar.

He laughed at her disgruntled answer as he dished the last of the eggs. “Not a morning person, are you?”

“Not without some form of caffeine,” she grumbled at him.

He rolled his eyes as he passed her an empty mug, and then poured some hot tea. Oolong, if Cordi guessed by the smell. She muttered a small, “Thanks,” as she spotted the sugar jar, and added a couple spoonfuls. She sipped her tea, and immediately calmed as its warmth spread through her, waking her body.

He passed her a plate full of food, sitting on the stool next to her and dug in quickly with his food. Cordi grabbed the fork he supplied, and asked as she shoveled her first bite, “So, what’s the occasion for breakfast?”

“Other than _breakfast_?” Kankuro asked between mouthfuls.

Cordi nodded.

He frowned. “Well, I figured today I would show you around Suna.”

She raised her eyebrows at that. “All around Suna?” Last night, he’d kept their walk short. It was essentially to the Oasis Cavern and back. No stops or detours.

He nodded. “All the sights. So, eat up. You’ll need your strength.”

She ate quickly with the prospects of seeing the village to its fullest brightening her spirits considerably. It would definitely be educational somewhat. Again, Suna, while being the second most featured village in Naruto, was barely featured enough to get an idea of the layout other than the Kazekage tower’s location. As soon as she finished, Kankuro shooed her off to get dressed while he prepared some water bottles for them. That was the danger of dwelling in a desert city in the middle of summer. The dry heat would dehydrate you quickly, and before you even knew you were feeling poorly, you’d pass out in the sand swept street.

When she waltzed back into the living space wearing short shorts and a tank top, Kankuro’s eyes bugged as he sputtered, “You don’t want to wear something a little less … revealing?” Apparently, Suna was a prudish village. She should have known. She rolled her eyes, then walked back into her room and traded her shorts for capris and threw a crocheted poncho over her shoulders.

As they walked through the village, seeing the temple in the North Wall, and the Oasis Gardens, as well as the academy, hospital, and market square, they discussed Cordelia’s old home. How society functioned without ninja, or really beings without super powers. Cordelia told him about their cars and airplanes. He was most fascinated by their world’s invention of robots. He couldn’t imagine a world with more sophisticated puppet mechanics than Suna currently used. But there was Cordelia, promising to show him her favorite movie, Jurassic Park, which according to her used mostly robots and puppets for the dinosaurs.

“That can’t be real,” Kankuro declared, shaking his head as they made their way back towards the market to grab a drink. They’d long drunk the last of their water. “That’s a total waste of mechanics. Who would buy that?”

“A lot of people,” Cordi argued. “Hell, I want one to cut back on cleaning.”

Kankuro’s gaze narrowed. “Bullshit. Cleaning’s not that hard.”

“Oh?” Cordi asked, her eyebrows raised. She paused as they passed a woman clearly having difficulty keeping her children in tow as they walked down the street. “Excuse me,” Cordi called.

Kankuro frowned as he watched her. “What are you doing?”

Cordi ignored him as she called again, “Excuse me, Miss. I was wondering if I could ask your opinion on something?”

The woman turned to her with a tired scowl, her grip tightening on the wrist of a wayward four-year-old boy, who was trying to chase after his older siblings, as she soothed a crying teething baby strapped to her chest. “I don’t really have time …”

“It’s a yes/no question, and will only take a moment,” Cordi offered.

The woman huffed, then gestured for her to proceed.

Cordi cleared her throat, then asked, “If there was something that cleaned all your floors once a day with a press of a button, and no more effort on your part than that, would you want that?”

The woman looked at her as if she’d spoken another language, then laughed, “Of course I’d want that.” She suddenly looked a mix between hopeful and curious as she asked, “Why?”

Cordi waved her off as she said, “No reason. Just proving a point to this jerk.” Cordi jutted her thumb over her shoulder to Kankuro who gave the woman a curt nod.

The woman immediately blanched, then bowed as she greeted, “Lord Kankuro. I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there.” When her children didn’t immediately bow, she hissed at them and thumped their heads before apologizing, “You must excuse their manners. They get them from their father,” as they finally bowed. “You know how Konoha shinobi can be.”

“It’s alright,” Kankuro replied with an easy smile. He looked over the children carefully, then noted the oldest boy had a puppet training doll. “What have you got there?” he asked the boy interestedly. When the boy didn’t answer, Kankuro squatted down and said, “It looks like a puppet training doll. Is it?”

The boy nodded, sheepishly.

Kankuro’s smile grew. “You want to be a puppet master in the puppet corps one day?”

The boy nodded more eagerly.

Kankuro gave a thoughtful shrug, then said, “Why don’t you show me?”

The boy pursed his lips nervously, looking to his mom as if to ask permission, and she gave an approving nod. The boy placed the doll on the ground before lifting his hands to attach the chakra strings. The doll stood from the sandy ground, shaking the grains from its joints before lifting its arm and giving Kankuro a wave.

Kankuro beamed at the boy, and said, “Very good. How old are you?”

“Haruto just turned six,” his mother stated, placing a loving hand on his head.

“So, you’ll be entering in the academy in the fall,” Kankuro filled in. The boy nodded nervously. Kankuro smiled more as he stood. “I’ll tell Nobu to keep an eye out for you. He’s always looking for a new puppet prodigy to teach.”

The boy looked up with hopeful eyes shining as his mother bowed again, saying, “Thank you, Lord Kankuro.”

Kankuro gave a dismissing nod as he turned, waving for Cordelia to follow him. “That was sweet,” Cordelia started once they were a good distance away.

“What was?” Kankuro asked blandly.

“What you offered the boy,” Cordelia answered. “You don’t see your softer side all that often in the anime.”

Kankuro rolled his eyes, clearly trying to brush off her compliment as he huffed, “I wouldn’t have offered if he didn’t have talent. I could barely work my toy snake at his age.” He shoved his hands in his pockets defensively before added, “Plus, I wouldn’t have said anything if it wasn’t for your innate compulsions to talk to random strangers on the street.” He leveled her with an annoyed frown with his critique. Cordelia only rolled her eyes in response. “Is that really such a normal thing for your world?”

Cordelia shrugged, “Not world. Just country. We had an exchange student at school two years ago from England, another country,” she filled in for him when he frowned, “and she said it was the hardest thing to get used to in America. Strangers will just talk to you about nothing.” He raised a quizzical eyebrow at that before returning forward. “Point is,” Cordelia chimed in, “I was right. Even here, there’s a market for cleaning robots, which do exist in my world.” Kankuro rolled his eyes now, realizing that was her whole point roping in a stranger to talk to. He decided to let the silence hang between them. “They’re called Roombas,” she added matter-of-factly. Again, Kankuro rolled his eyes.

“KANKURO!!!” they heard call down the street. “LORD KANKURO!!!”

Cordi and the puppeteer stopped, turning back to see who was calling him. A girl was bounding towards them. She wore a pink dress with shoulder cut-outs, black leggings, and ninja boots. Her mousy brown hair only reached her shoulders, and her eyes rivaled Cordi’s for color, the brown only a shade above black. Cordi did her best to force a smile to her face as she realized she was seeing Matsuri, in the flesh.

“I thought that was you,” Matsuri greeted as she came closer, her smile beaming. “Does that mean you all are back from the Chunin Exams?”

“Not all,” Kankuro answered boredly. “Gaara and Temari stayed behind to watch the Exams, and Gaara sent me to escort our new guest home.” Kankuro gestured to Cordi, who forced her smile wider. He gestured to Matsuri as he made introductions, “Cordelia Turner, this is Matsuri. Matsuri, this is Cordelia Turner.”

Matsuri gave Cordelia a once over, and if Cordi wasn’t mistaken, a flicker of jealousy flashed in her eyes before she quickly masked it under a friendly façade. “It’s a shame,” Matsuri sighed, looking back at Kankuro. “I was hoping to catch up with Gaara before my mission in the Hidden Grass village. We leave this evening.”

“Guess you’ll miss him then,” Cordi said a little too cheerfully. She mentally cursed herself for it as Matsuri shot her a momentary look that said she caught Cordi’s underlying joy at that news.

“Well, what brings you to Suna, Lady Cordelia?” Matsuri asked, clasping her hands in front of her and looking all too proper, like many of the mothers of the Shenandoah Debutante Society Mrs. Turner tried to enlist her daughters in. It didn’t work out. Mostly because Cordelia didn’t play the fake friend or frienemy bullshit necessary to navigate those social circles. “Just a passing visit or …?” she trailed off at the end.

“Gaara invited her to live with us for the time being. It’s kind of an international thing,” Kankuro filled in, clearly hoping the explanation was enough, because both he and Cordi knew he wasn’t allowed to say anything about the otherworldly stuff. That was top secret until further notice from the Council.

Cordi didn’t miss the flash of anger through Matsuri’s eyes before she quickly shoved it down, masking it with a smile as she laughed, “International meaning Kage clearance only?”

“Yeah,” Kankuro answered scratching the back of his neck with an apologetic smile. “It’s nothing personal.”

“Well,” Matsuri chirped, jutting her thumb over he shoulder, “I promised Yukata I’d meet her for tea in a bit before we got the rest of our supply shopping done. So, I’ve got to run. It was nice to see you, Kankuro.”

“Yeah, you too,” he breathed, earning a quick side glance from Cordi at his wistful tone. She could have sworn the way Lynne had talked about it, Kankuro’s thing with Matsuri was nothing more than the occasional bumping of uglies. She worried if it was actually more. If it was worse than him just sleeping with his brother’s girlfriend. If it was actually … love? Definitely not full blown, but maybe a hint.

Matsuri turned to Cordi as she added, “I hope you enjoy your stay in Suna, Lady Cordelia.”

“It’s just Cordelia,” Cordi corrected.

Matsuri clearly ignored the correction as she turned to Kankuro as she added, “And, I guess, I’ll catch up with you later. I’ve got to make sure everything is in order before we set out tonight.”

“Of course,” Kankuro stated. “What time are you leaving. I’ll come see you off?”

Matsuri waved him off as she added, “That’s not necessary. I’ll, uh … I’ll see you around.” Matsuri quickly turned on her heel and ran off.

Cordi watched her carefully, even as Kankuro turned to return to their tour. He stopped as he saw Cordi still staring, and asked, “What?”

Cordi pursed her lips, then decided there was no better time to ask. It was just her and Kankuro, and she just met Matsuri. “Are you and Matsuri together?”

Kankuro raised an eyebrow at Cordi, a glimmer of recognition in his eyes before it was drowned with a smile as he laughed, “What makes you say that?”

“My spidey-senses are tingling.”

“You’re what now?”

“Colloquialism,” Cordi dismissed with a wave of her hand. “You just sounded love-lornly wistful talking to her.” She shrugged to seem unattached to the idea, hoping it would trick him into talking as she added, “I don’t know. I just get a vibe something is going on between you two.”

Kankuro crossed his arms as he said, “It’s complicated,” before continuing on their walk back towards the market.

“Then explain it,” Cordi urged, falling in step with him.

He shrugged, “We’ve been friends since she became Gaara’s student. I’ve always cared for her in a mentor or older brotherly capacity. But recently we’ve …. we’ve ….” He trailed off, chewing on his lips as he thought of the right words.

“You’ve what?” Cordi pressed, a knowing smirk gracing her features. When Kankuro pursed his lips, Cordi pushed again, “You’ve started a quilting club?” Kankuro rolled his eyes. “… Joined a band? … Discovered a love for cake decorating?” She paused, letting the silence sit between them. “Started scrapbooking.”

“We’ve fucked,” Kankuro answered pointedly, not wanting to listen to her endless list of inane scenarios. “Several times over the past couple months."

Cordi’s smirk turned victorious as she said, “Was that so hard?”

Kankuro pointed an accusing finger as he scoffed, “Not a word to Gaara. I need your word you won’t say anything.” She raised a curious eyebrow at that, but gave a sincere agreeing nod. Did he know they were dating? He huffed before he added, “Matsuri’s his student, and he’s always been really protective of her.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets as he added, “I wouldn’t put it past him to pull the whole protective father role over her when it comes to whoever she dates. Which means me fucking Matsuri would make me a dead man.”

Cordi shrugged. “I think Gaara knows fratricide won’t leave a good mark on his record. Not to mention he’d know Matsuri would hate him for killing her boyfriend.”

Kankuro scoffed, and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, don’t think that will matter at that point. And we aren’t in any way _together_. It’s just the sex.”

That was a surprise. She was right. It was a secret friends-with-benefits thing. So why was he acting so weird earlier? Was it just the brotherly affection he’d mentioned earlier? They walked in silence for a moment before Cordi asked, “Can I ask what brought it about?”

Kankuro puffed out his cheeks and sighed, looking to the skies before answering, “Yeah. But warning, I don’t come out looking so good until you know all the facts. So, please reserve your judgement.” Cordi again gave an agreeing nod. She’d been living with them for two and a half weeks now. He knew she was an excellent listener. “A couple months ago, she started dating some guy who she apparently liked. But after a while, she realized it’s a bad relationship. He’s taking her feelings for granted and they’re just generally not on the same page. They had an argument one night that left Matsuri feeling horrible about herself. Probably just him being a general asshole. You know how guys are. Anyway, she sought my advice about it over a few drinks two months ago, one thing led to another…”

“And you did it,” Cordi filled in, now slightly uncomfortable with the deeper knowledge of Gaara’s and Matsuri’s relationship. It was totally doomed.

“Yeah,” he grunted, picking his fingernail with his thumb. “Then I told her to dump him, because from what she told me, it’s a toxic relationship.” He shrugged as he rolled his eyes as he scoffed, “But she wanted to work things out with him. And, since then, whenever something happens with her boyfriend, she seeks my advice, then usually sex, and I tell her to dump her boyfriend because he’s not appreciative of what he has. Then she doesn’t listen, and the cycle continues.”

“So, you aren’t dating her because she’s dating someone else, and you’re just the other man?” Cordi asked.

Kankuro frowned. “I’m not sure what you’re asking.”

“I mean, if she was single, would you want to be with her?”

Kankuro made a weird face. “No?” He cleared his throat before clarifying, “I mean, I’d still be open to the casual sex. But Matsuri isn’t the type of girl I’d like to date. Maybe that’s why she’s still holding onto that guy. She knows what we have is only the sex. She’s the type who needs a boyfriend. She’s way too … girly. And prim. Very prim. She’s not the assertive, ‘take-charge’ type of woman I like.”

“No,” Cordi sighed, “I guess she’s not.” Again, they continued a small distance in silence before Cordi asked, “Do you know who the guy she’s dating is?”

Kankuro shrugged. “Some civilian who works in one of the offices around the village.” He smirked at her as he puffed his chest a little and added, “Probably an accountant.”

Cordi allowed herself to give a small laugh before she pursed her lips and forced herself to look forward, to keep from snidely joking, _“Well, your brother has an office.”_ It was more prudent to stay silent. They’d figure it out eventually, and she didn’t need to be the nosy girl who put herself in other people’s relationships.

If Kankuro noticed her pointed silence after his comment, he didn’t mention it. They arrived in the market square, and it was full of shops and street vendors. Kankuro pointed around and asked, “Is there any store you want to go to? Anything you need?”

Cordi looked up and around the market place as she grumbled, “Oh. I didn’t realize we were doing any shopping.”

“Well, we need to get some groceries anyway,” Kankuro reasoned. “So I figured if there was anything else to make you feel more at home, might as well get it.”

“Oh, is there a place I can get some photos printed?” she asked, remembering her camera in her purse. “And some picture frames.”

Kankuro nodded, and directed her to a general store that had a photo area in the back. He got a few things while she got things squared away with the printer. It took a few minutes, but she came out with five photos and appropriate size frames in a bag. Kankuro met her in the checkout line, armed with tea bags, snack foods, and a case of beer. Nothing perishable. He gestured to the items in his hands as he added, “We’ll get more groceries when Temari and Gaara get back.”

They paid for their items and made their way back outside. Kankuro pointed across the square and asked, “Are you ready for lunch? That place has Suna’s best kushikatsu platters.”

Cordi frowned. “What’s kushikatsu.”

“Deep fried meat and veggies.”

“Sold,” Cordi answered quickly. It had been a while since she’d had anything deep fried.

They got a table rather quickly, and their food even faster. Kankuro placed his hands together over his food and breathed, “Itadakimasu.” As he looked up to see Cordi already scarfing down her food, he raised an eyebrow at her in disapproval.

She caught his gaze mid-chew, pursing her lips before muttering a small, “Bon apetit?”

He gave a small eyeroll and dug into his food, remarking, “It’s basic manners to say ‘itadakimasu’ before eating your food.”

She raised an eyebrow at him as she remarked, “Are you a mind-reader? How do you know I didn’t say a mental blessing before eating?”

“Blessing?” he asked around a mouthful of food.

She shrugged, “It’s traditional where I’m from to say a prayer over the food to God. But since my family’s blessing is a little long, it can be embarrassing to recite it in public…”

Kankuro shrugged, taking another bite before commenting, “Well, you’re in Suna. Maybe you should pick up some of our traditions.”

Cordi smirked around her food. She swallowed before responding, “When in Rome?”

“What?” Kankuro asked.

“A saying back home,” Cordi stated, dropping her stick of fried chicken, which was delicious. “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” She waved it off as she clarified, “It means when traveling abroad, adopt local customs to not stand out or get in trouble.”

“Then it’s a very wise saying,” Kankuro agreed.

“Fine,” she huffed. Cordi placed her hands together and said, “Itadakimasu.”

“See,” Kankuro said with a grin. “Not so hard.”

“I feel like a weeb,” Cordi grunted, going back to her food. Kankuro laughed at her sour expression before taking another large bite.

They didn’t talk much as they ate. About halfway through their meal, a man walked up to their table, planting his hand on the surface as he laughed, “I didn’t know you were back, Kankuro,” the man said, leaning in. He had dark blond hair, hazel eyes, and a general haughty air about him. If Cordi was to judge, he was fairly attractive with his strong cheekbones and jaw, but she got a vibe form him that he was nothing more than a playboy. It might have been the black shirt only buttoned just above his navel to give a glimpse of his decently sculpted chest.

Kankuro stood to greet him with a big smile. “Hiro,” he said, pulling the man in with a hug.

“I thought you weren’t due back for another day or two. They announced the delay for the Chunin exams, so I figured …”

“Gaara asked me to escort Cordelia here early,” Kankuro explained as he pulled away.

Hiro raised an eyebrow at that, then pointed to the woman sitting across from Kankuro. “Cordelia, I presume?” She nodded her answer with a smile. He stuck his hand out with a welcoming grin as he said, “Nice to meet you. Name’s Hiro.”

Cordi grabbed his hand and gave it a firm shake and replied, “Nice to meet you too.”

Hiro turned back to Kankuro and continued, “Well, it’s good I found you then, Kuro. I was tasked to get a team together for a quick mission. Set out tonight, get back tomorrow. You’d be ideal for it. D’ya want to join?” He smirked as he added, “It’s a B-rank, and the payout’s good.”

Kankuro pursed his lips, clearly interested in the offer before standing and saying, “Let’s talk.”

Cordi was taken aback immediately as he walked off with Hiro. She scoffed that she expected any more than him before turning back to her food. After ten minutes Kankuro returned and placed money on table. “I’m going to join Hiro on this mission. So, I’ve got to go get ready.”

Cordi pursed her lips before commenting, “But I was hoping to do a little more shopping before going back to the penthouse.”

Kankuro frowned as he straightened, then sighed, “I guess you’ll need to get something for dinner and lunch tomorrow.” He sighed as he reached back into his pocket again and pulled out his wallet. He flicked through the bills, and then sighed, pulling out two bills. “I’ve got one fifty I can lend you.” He handed the bills to her as he said, “Just pay me back when you can.”

Cordi was flabbergasted as he turned to Hiro and lifted a hand to signal he was ready to go. “But Kankuro,” Cordi called, standing up quickly to chase him down. “I don’t know how to get back.”

He frowned with a shrug. “You like talking to strangers. Just ask for directions.” She gaped at him as he smiled with a wave. “See you.” And like that he was gone.

She stood there frozen for a moment as she realized the older Sand brother had abandoned her in downtown Suna. She gripped the bills in her hand, then shook her head in disbelief as she shoved the bills in her pocket and grabbed their bags of snacks and her pictures, and one last stick of kushikatsu for the road. Kankuro was right. It was very delicious.

She stepped back onto the street and looked around to see what stores would most likely carry what she needed. She made a mental list of what she needed to get, realizing that she didn’t have enough money to get too much beyond necessities. Two meals minimum and shower stuff, which she realized she forgot to get earlier. She found supermarket on the edge of the market street, and ducked in to get her essentials. She was surprised to find pizza makings, and decided she’d make her specialty pizza for the Sand Siblings when they all arrived home. The past several days, she’d admit, were rough on her relationship with them. But she was willing to forgive this instance. Although, Kankuro abandoning her did significantly dampen her view of him. But to be honest, while she’d liked him as a character in the show, her expectations for him weren’t that high to begin with.

She’d gotten most of her supplies and was sniffing shampoo in the seventh aisle, not sure if she wanted to switch to a new scent. She found a brand of shampoo here that had her old scent, but it was for frizz control, and Cordelia had always had naturally straight hair. What she needed was root help and scalp care, but the shampoo for that was a sickening floral scent that reminded her of her great aunt Mildred’s house.

That was when someone ran into her from the side, causing her to drop the bottle of shampoo which busted and exploded as it hit the concrete floor. “Oh, my. I’m so sorry,” a man said as she stepped back, trying her best not to slip on her shampoo covered feet. “I should really watch where I’m going. I’m such a klutz. I’ll get someone to help with this.”

“Thanks,” she breathed, unsure of what else to say.

She looked up as the man ran to the end of the aisle and called, “Can we get a clean-up on Aisle Seven?” He turned back with a smile, and the vision she was met with stopped her heart momentarily. He was tall, over six feet. He had wavy light blond hair that was a beautiful mess, expressive gray green eyes, and a perfect white smile. He wasn’t super tanned, and wore an army green button up shirt that had its sleeves rolled up past his elbows and was unbuttoned to the end of his sternum, showing off another decently sculpted chest. He had a light brown scarf tied at his hips like an obi, and he wore long black trousers that were tucked into black ninja boots. Suna standard by the toe shape. And he had a brown leather band around his left wrist.

She had to admit, Suna was full of beautiful people. Cordelia wasn’t even sure she’d ever seen a man so beautiful. “Oh,” she breathed, a small stupid smile drifting to her face. She realized she sounded idiotic, and cleared her throat before adding, “Oh, no, it’s alright. I’m a bit of a klutz too.”

“Thanks,” the man laughed walking back towards her, “but you don’t need to make me feel better.”

“No, seriously,” Cordi laughed as she thought of an example. “One time, I was torch-bearing for church and caught my own hair on fire. So, I totally get it.”

He laughed with a strange curious look, then gave an acquiescing nod. “I’m Ryomen,” he offered holding out his hand.

She offered her hand as she said, “Cordelia.” Although, she paused when she notice a large glob of shampoo had landed on her hand earlier, and pulled it back, trying to shake it off as she muttered a small, “Sorry.”

“No, it’s okay,” Ryomen chuckled. “Again, it was my fault.” He reached in his pouch and pulled out a handkerchief as he said, “Here, clean yourself off with this.”

She took it with a big smile. “Thanks.” She quickly began to wipe the shampoo off all the spots it splattered on her.

“So, _Cordelia_ ,” Ryomen started. “I’ve never heard that name before.”

She gave a small knowing chuckle as she replied, “Well, I’m not exactly from around here.”

Ryomen looked at her curiously as he asked, “Oh? Where’re you from?”

She was thankful that before she could answer, one of the store workers arrived and started to get to work on cleaning up the mess. This man was so pretty she forgot that she wasn’t supposed to be talking about her past so freely. She was technically a need to know issue. When inquired, Ryomen explained what happened, letting Cordi dodge the question he’d asked completely. Quickly, she decided to go with the frizz control for the time being, thinking having super smooth hair wouldn’t kill her, and her scalp would survive. But she _could not_ smell like her great aunt Mildred. The shampoo and conditioner were the last items she needed, and she needed to get back to the penthouse since it was already reaching three o’clock.

She moved to leave, turning to Ryomen as she said, “I’ve got to go. It was nice meeting you Ryomen.”

“Oh,” she heard him breathe as if he had more he wanted to say, but she kept walking. Thankful for the distraction to make her escape. She checked out and got directions from the store back to the Kazekage Tower from the cashier. She was only a couple blocks away. One block south to one of the main streets, then she’d have to follow it to the center. Suna’s center was set up like a clock with twelve main streets stretching from the Kazekage Tower to the perimeter cliffs through the mid-circle and the outer-circle, which got a little more haphazardly sectioned than the standard radial city blockage in the inner circle the further out you got. The market square sat on the border of the outer and inner circles.

As she made her way back to the tower, she saw a flower shop and slowed. The store was called Sandy Blooms, and was only eight blocks away from the tower. In the window she saw a cactus that had a couple pretty blooms, and she peeked in the window. The cactus was short and round with a two notches off the main bulb, and the peak of each notch had a flower that was yellow in the center and red on the edges of the petals. The colors reminded her of her favorite flower the sunset rose. She smiled as she thought, _So, this is why Gaara likes cacti. He’d probably love this._

As she thought about the Kazekage, she remembered their last conversation, and she felt guilt gnaw at her heart. Calling him a heartless son-of-a-bitch. Even when he tried to apologize at the train station, she blew him off. She regretted her words and actions. Her anger with him had ebbed in the past few days as she realized he didn’t really have any other option. She regretted her immediate reaction to the news and with all her heart wanted to apologize. Especially after getting as close as she had. He wasn’t one to open up usually, but he had shown her a vulnerable side once or twice that she doubted anyone else saw. She didn’t want to throw away the relationship that they had begun to build. She still wanted to be his friend, … maybe even more. She remembered how he held her as he ran her through Konoha late at night. How he smelled as he held her close to his chest. How just his hands on her body made her brain short circuit and her heart stop. No, she didn’t want to lose what she had fought so hard to gain between them.

She realized immediately that meant she needed to make a gesture. Offer an olive branch to tell him she meant no ill will, and that she forgave him for what he did. She stepped inside, and a woman asked, “Can I help you with something?”

Cordi immediately grabbed the cactus and asked, “How much for this?” as she placed the cactus on the glass counter.

“The potted prickly pear? Forty dollars,” the woman answered.

Cordi looked at it with a frown, pulling out her change from grocery shopping. It wasn’t enough. “Damn,” she breathed, frowning at her cash. “I only have thirty-eight.”

The woman looked at her pityingly, then smiled. “That’s alright. Let me see if I have a coupon over here,” she offered, pulling out a few coupons on the side. She held one up victoriously as she scanned it, then rung up the cactus, and said, “That’s ten percent off of succulents and cacti, so now it’s thirty-six.”

Cordi beamed at her as she handed her the money. “Thank you.”

The woman gave a sincere smile back as she said, “It’s nothing. Please come back for any other floral needs.”

Cordi left the shop with a smile as she held the cactus close to her, thinking how much Gaara would like this new cactus for his collection. Whatever damage she’d caused to their relationship in her anger, this cactus would surely be a balm.

*~*~*

“Alright,” Shikamaru called out boredly as he looked at the remaining otherworldly girls, quickly averting his gaze from Rox and then Lynne, who he had to keep reminding himself could read his mind.

Rox was wearing some jogging pants and a tank top, with her hair tied back in a high braid. She looked perfectly ordinary today, which boded well for him. Their break-up would go a lot smoother if she didn’t flaunt herself. Not that he particularly liked pushy and vain girls. In truth, if a girl was high maintenance, like Ino, he did his best to steer clear. But there was nothing wrong with a girl who knew she was pretty. Rox, he felt, was in the later category. Because even in such basic, unassuming attire, she was pretty. She wasn’t even wearing makeup, and was still pretty. What was important was what he felt her choice in presentation symbolized. She put little effort to look appealing when she knew he would be there, so hopefully that translated to not pushing him, or guilting him, back into a relationship.

It was already bad enough that after she mentioned having a family at the festival, he couldn’t stop thinking about all that would entail. Especially the more intimate parts. He wanted her. Wanted that life. Even when he was breaking up with her, he wanted to take it back and kiss her.

But he was their team leader. If he pursued it, his reputation would tank, and he would ruin hers. No relationship would end well with him being their team leader.

He frowned as he noted one was missing from the secluded training field he and Hinata had picked for the girls’ assessments. “Where’s the last one?” he asked the other three.

“Sorry!” they heard a high-pitched call as Ronnie came running into field, her hand holding fast to Kiba’s. A bark chimed in as Akamaru came trailing behind them. “We woke up a little late.”

Shikamaru’s gaze narrowed on the dog trainer before he asked, “And what are you doing here?”

“I invited him,” Ronnie brushed off, beaming back at Kiba as she added, “for moral support.”

Shikamaru scowled annoyedly at the two clearly besotted idiots, but realized there was little he could do about it without expending too much energy. And when he heard Hinata chuckle in happy acceptance behind him, he just rolled his eyes. _Fuck it._ “Today, we are only doing an assessment of your skills and powers to get an idea of what level of training will need to be added to your education for you to become full-fledged ninja. To do that, each of you will run an obstacle course I’ve laid out.” He lazily gestured to Hinata as he added, “During your runs, Hinata will be observing you with her Byakugan. Seeing how your powers work, assessing your skill levels, everything.” He stepped over, gesturing towards the course. “First are the fifteen hurdles of varying sizes. Next is the stump jump. You will cross the logs without falling, or start over. After that, you’ll have to hit ten targets. Then finally, you’ll need to ring the bell at the top of that tree.” He reached down beside the first hurdle where a small pile of ninja packs sat. He handed them each one as he stated, “Each pack carries the standard six kunai, and twelve shuriken. Keep in mind, we do want to see how you use your powers to tackle these obstacles.” He sighed as he put his hands back in his pockets. “All in all, this shouldn’t take more than an hour. So, let’s get started.”

He frowned as he looked at each of the girls, then pointed first at Winifred Buchanan. “You first. Everyone else, take a seat.” Fred stepped forward to where he marked the starting line, a bored expression on her face. He nudged his shoulder back to Hinata, as the Hyuga heiress pulled out a pad of paper and a pen, as he ordered, “State your full name.”

“Winifred Buchanan,” Fred answered with a frown. When Hinata frowned, Fred spelled it out for her before assuming her ready lunge.

Shikamaru eyed her unimpressed, his hands still in his pockets as he sighed, “Begin.”

She sprung forward, and jumped over the first hurdle with relative ease, then the second and third. The fourth was a little tall for her, but almost instinctively, she raised the ground beneath her landing to provide her assistance. She deftly cleared the first section, moving onto the stump jump. Shikamaru pulled out a timer from his pocket with a small shrug and purse of his lips as he eyed the time.

As Fred stepped onto the first stump, she smiled, and closed her eyes. From the first stump, a branch grew out thick and strong, making a bridge to the next one and the one after that until all the stumps were connected. She opened her eyes, then sprinted across the bridge to the third task. She held her hand out, summoning her throwing stars out of her pouch, lining them up telekinetically before spraying the targets with perfect aim in a second. Then she was on the final test. All she did was look up, and beneath her a bud started quickly growing into a bush, then into a large oak tree, raising her up as it grew. Once she was high enough, she reached out to the small bell pull and gave it a tug, ringing loudly around the field. Her tree collapsed evenly under her, landing her safely on the ground, and she walked back to the group with a victorious smirk.

Shikamaru looked at Hinata as he stated, “4 minutes, 33 seconds.” She nodded, writing it down quickly with some of her own notes. He looked back at Winifred and directed, “And if you could clear your changes?” Fred frowned, but stepped back to the stump jump, touching the first stump and retracting the bridge all the way. Then with a few swift movements, the stone columns she added to the hurdles shot back into the ground. Fred shot him a pointed scowl before stalking off to the area her friends were sitting. Her mouth twitching at the sight of Ronnie snuggled against Kiba. It wasn’t that Kiba was a bad guy, per say, just that Ronnie got annoyingly lovey-dovey in new relationships. Fred sat promptly between Lynne and Rox, who were also trying to distance themselves from the new couple.

Hinata looked up when she was done with her notes, and Shikamaru pointed to Rox. “You’re up.”

Rox sheepishly stepped forward to the starting line. She shot him a longing glance, causing him to quickly avert his eyes. She gave a small pout before masking it before anyone could notice. Before Shikamaru asked, she turned to Hinata and stated, “Roxanne Turner.”

Then she got in a ready lunge, and Shikamaru called, “Start.”

She barreled forward, and with ever jump, she used her air to send her over with ease, continuing with ease through the stump jump in very much the same manner. Then she was at the targets, and she frowned that she couldn’t do something as flashy and easy as Fred. She pulled out her stars, and threw them as best she could, then using her wind to help blow them on the right track. None of them hit the bullseye like Fred’s, but each of them got arguably close. Then she was on the final test. She knelt down, then sprung up, summoning a visual Jetstream under her that rocketed her up. She grabbed the bell pull, ringing it out, then floated back down like a weightless feather. She wordlessly walked back to her friends as Shikamaru called out, “4 minutes, 49 seconds.” She frowned, knowing her added time was the throwing stars. She’d been quicker on hurdles, stumps and the bell.

Hinata finished her notes as Rox found her seat next to Fred. Shikamaru pointed at Lynne. “You’re next.”

Lynne popped up and made her way over to the starting line. “Lynne Belfoco,” she stated to Hinata, who wrote it down quickly.

“Start.”

Lynne sprinted forward. Lynne sprinted forward, jumping over the hurdles with relative ease. Even though Rox was the sports star among them, Lynne ran track and field and was just as fast as Rox. She continued easily through to the stump jump, and deftly jumped from stump to stump. Then did just as Fred had with the targets, using her telekinesis to nail the bullseye of each of her targets with her shurikens. She then spun to look at Shikamaru with a smirk before flicking her finger towards the bell as it rang out.

Shikamaru shot her a scowl for skipping the task of actually making it up the tree, but she did complete it. “4 minutes, 15 seconds,” he called out.

She did a little victory dance on her way back to her friends as she sang out, “Woohoo. Best time! Yeah!”

As she crossed Ronnie, Shikamaru pointed to the water user, and said, “Finally, you’re up.”

Ronnie pouted as she stood. “Any particular reason I’m last?”

“Other than you were late?” Shikamaru snarked back only loud enough for her to hear.

She gave a small eye roll as she continued on to the starting line. She stated to Hinata, “Veronica Buchanan, or Ronnie.” She frowned as she added the last bit.

“You got this!” Kiba called out, an affirming bark from Akamaru behind him.

Fred shot a heavy eye roll at Rox and Lynne. Lynne suppressed a laugh with a snort as Rox chided, “Hush,” despite her smile.

“Start.”

Ronnie ran forward, hurdling over her obstacles not as easily as Rox or Lynne, but still quickly. She only knocked over two, but she continued on with fluid movements. She handled the stump jump easily, landing at the targets with ease. She raised her hand to the sky, and after a moment, a cloud syphoned down from the sky and encircled her before condensing into a small ball of water which then shot through each of the targets’ bullseyes, before flying up at the bell with a final **_PING!_**

“4 minutes, 19 seconds,” Shikamaru called out.

“HA!” Ronnie barked, pointing at her sister. “I beat you!”

Fred frowned. “This wasn’t a competition.”

Ronnie smirked as she sauntered back. “Only because you lost.”

Fred pursed her lips, then muttered, “Technically, Rox lost.” Rox shot her oldest friend a small scowl before going back to picking the grass, and tossing it. With Fred sitting next to her, it grew back quickly.

As Ronnie sat back down, snuggling back into Kiba’s chest, Shikamaru walked up to them with a bored, even expression. He was also clearly trying to ignore Kiba and Ronnie’s obvious pda. “The obvious note is that we need to work on all of your speed. You all are so slow, it –.”

“You don’t have to say it like that,” Kiba interrupted with a scoff at his old classmate.

Shikamaru shot the dog trainer a bored glare. “I’m sorry. Is this your team or mine?”

Kiba tongued a fang as he glared back at the shadow ninja, a protective hand grasping Ronnie’s shoulder, who situated herself further in Kiba’s lap. “Your team or not,” Kiba growled, “Ronnie’s my girlfriend, and I don’t like anyone talking like that about her.”

Shikamaru eyed him carefully before looking at Ronnie and then her friends. All of Ronnie’s friends made faces that said this was behavior they were used to with Ronnie and her boyfriends. “Kiba,” he tried again, “Lord Kakashi has tasked me with their training. If that’s going to be a problem, we can take it up with him.”

Kiba set his jaw, clearly about to retort back. Ronnie quickly grabbed his hand on her shoulder and said, “It’s ok, Kiba.” Kiba didn’t look ok, but he bit back any response he had.

“As I was saying,” Shikamaru grumbled back to the other three girls, “your lacking speed can cause some serious problems in a fight.” They each nodded their understanding. “The good thing is that it looks like Temari trained you to control your powers pretty well. Your current prowess might be able to make up for some of your speed problems. And you seem to be able to fit them creatively to solve the problem in front of you, which is a good sign.” He put his hands in his pockets as he turned towards Hinata, who was walking towards them, and added blandly, “Hopefully with Hinata’s observations, we’ll be able to fine tune your control over those powers, and turn you into decent shinobi.” He smiled at her hopefully as he asked, “So what have you got?”

Hinata closed her notebook with a sigh as she stated, “Well, it’s difficult to explain. They don’t have a chakra network like we do. And whatever their powers are, they don’t function like our chakra does. It looks like it burns in their core,” she gestured at her heart, then moved her hand out as she continued, “then surges out when they use it.” She rubbed her chin as she finished explaining it, chewing on her lower lip. She shot Shikamaru a sorry frown as she added, “Surely, I’ll need to make further notes. But I’m not even sure if that’ll be enough.”

Shikamaru nodded thoughtfully. “What do suggest?”

She sighed as she said, “The Byakugan can see how chakra flows in the chakra network. The Sharingan sees different chakra better and how it behaves outside the body.”

Shikamaru pursed his lips. “Sasuke?”

Lynne perked up at that.

“Not to mention with his Rinnegan, he’d also be able to better see how their powers function in their bodies,” Hinata added.

Shikamaru sighed dejectedly. He chewed the inside of his cheek before muttering, “Damn.” He scratched at the base of his ponytail. “You’re right. He’d probably see their abilities a lot better. But Kakashi might be reluctant to pull him from his current mission.”

“I’m sorry,” Lynne cut in with a smile as she stood, “I couldn’t help but overhear. Sasuke is alive?”

Shikamaru pursed his lips while Hinata looked away guiltily. “Yeah,” Kiba answered annoyedly. “But he’s almost never here.”

“But he wasn’t killed with the rest of the Akatsuki?” Lynne asked clarifyingly, looking at the three jonin.

Shikamaru exhaled sharply out his nose, closing his eyes as if searching for some internal zen for such a topic. “Right, you all only know up to the Kage Summit.” He crossed his arms, turning to the girls. “Well, during the final fight against the Ten Tails, Madara, Obito, and Kaguya, Sasuke arrived with Orochimaru and all the previous Hokage. Orochimaru helped save the five Kage from certain death while Sasuke and the previous Hokage provided crucial support to the ninja army that made it possible for us to actually win. Lady Tsunade stepped down from her office officially after the war, instating Kakashi as Hokage, and letting him decide Sasuke’s fate. So, yes, he’s still alive. And mostly works counter-intelligence on the Otsutsuki clan, since he’s the only living being with a Rinnegan.”

Half of what he said didn’t make any sense, but Lynne didn’t care. All that mattered was that she could read that he was telling the truth. That meant Sasuke was alive, and that was all that mattered to her.

“I’ll talk with Kakashi to see if he can summon him back for some input,” Shikamaru stated. He turned back to the girls as they stood up, Rox and Fred dusting the dirt off their pants as he said, “Tomorrow, we’ll really crack down. We’ll start on speed drills, then move onto basic taijutsu technique, then if we have time, we’ll practice your elements.” He put his fingers in a standard seal, then said, “I’ll see you tomorrow at one.” Then he poofed away. Rox lifted her hand, then sighed slightly dejectedly as she realized he was already gone.

Hinata gave them a small bow, performing a similar hand seal, and poofing away.

“Well,” Kiba huffed, standing up as he helped Ronnie up as well, “since you’re done for the day, do you want to go on a walk with me and Akamaru?” Ronnie beamed up at him, wrapping her arm around his elbow as she stared up dreamily at him, and they made their way out of the training grounds.

The girls left behind watched Kiba and Ronnie leave the field hand in hand, gazing at each other in that gag inducing, starry-eyed way. “Well, that could have gone better?” Fred huffed, crossing her arms.

“You mean Ronnie?” Rox filled in as she took her first few steps back to town, Fred and Lynne walking along with her.

“No, I mean you,” Fred clarified, shooting a disappointed look at her oldest friend.

Rox’s innocent, wide brown eyes connected with her best friend’s green gaze. “Me?”

Fred nodded. “You should know by now, every break up is a competition,” she stated. She pursed her lips as she shook her head and crossed her arms. “And judging by today, you’re losing, bad.”

Rox scoffed skeptically. “What are you talking about?”

Fred looked pointedly at Lynne. “Lynne, back me up. Break ups are a competition.”

Lynne looked up, apparently surprised to be addressed. Both Rox and Fred could tell the mind-reader was in her own little world. “Yes?” Lynne asked, uncertainly as she looked at both of them. Then she nodded after getting a second pointed look from Fred. “Yes. Break ups are absolutely a competition.”

Rox looked at both of her friends as if they were crazy. “You see, he broke up with you. You need to show him that was a mistake,” Fred explained.

“Yup,” Lynne agreed.

Rox shook her head. “I don’t even …”

“You don’t have to do much,” Fred interrupted. “Just if you’re going to see him, you need to be hot and happy.”

Rox rolled her eyes. This was ridiculous. “And what if I’m not feeling happy … or hot?”

“That’s not the point,” Fred argued. “He needs to think you are.” She gave a small shrug as she added flippantly, “And honestly, if you tell yourself you’re happy, hot, and confident, it eventually stops being a lie.”

Rox looked to Lynne for verification, since she was the psychology expert of them. Lynne puffed out her cheeks and mumbled, “I wouldn’t recommend that to people suffering _clinical depression_ , because that’s more of a chemical imbalance that’s better fixed through actual medication. But generally speaking, yeah. Shifting your mindset to be more self-affirming leads to more confidence.”

Rox pursed her lips. “I don’t know.”

“Trust me,” Fred stated. “If you put in the effort he’ll either beg to be back with you, or you’ll get a better guy, which is the best way to get over a relationship.”

Rox stopped, looking at her friends worriedly. “Fred, I’m not like you. I can’t just jump into a new relationship.”

“We know,” Lynne supplied. She grabbed Rox’s hand and gave her a reassuring squeeze.

“I’m just saying,” Fred started with an equally sad frown, “when Shikamaru looked at you today, he regarded you like a wounded animal. Like he pitied you. And I hate that. **He** hurt you. Why shouldn’t he hurt the same?”

Rox sucked on her upper lip for a second, her eyes darting between both Fred and Lynne. She finally settled on Lynne, and asked, “Was he really pitying me?”

Lynne pursed her lips, then answered, “I tried not to read his mind, because … yeah.” She sighed and closed her eyes tiredly. “Yeah. His mind was a mix of pity for leading you on … and annoyance for Ronnie and Kiba,” she added the last bit like that was a given, “and where we were lacking in our obstacle runs.”

Rox set her jaw, feeling an odd tingle in her throat that more fueled anger than sadness. Pity wasn’t what she wanted. It wasn’t what she deserved. Yeah, she really liked him, but they’d only gone on three dates. It wasn’t like she wasn’t heartbroken. It was upsetting sure, and a setback. But she was stronger than that.

Her dark eyes snapped up to her friends’. “What do I do?”

Fred smiled, and looped her arm in Rox’s at the elbow. “First? We go shopping.”

*~*~*

The gates of Suna were a very welcome sight to the travel weary Kazekage and his sister. It was around breakfast the morning of July 8th they caught their first glimpse in the past two and a half weeks. Oddly, to Gaara it felt so much longer than that. So much had changed in just two weeks. It was around eleven when they took their first steps onto the Suna steps where they were met with raucous cheers and a podium had been set for his return speech about the exams. He did his best to keep the speech brief. He said he was proud of all the teams that qualified and took the test. That a team from Suna made it all the way to the final rounds against teams from the other great nations in the first test where all of them were present was something to be proud of. He ended with his hopes that this was a sign of strengthening bonds between the nations as well as a sign of stronger ninja in Suna in the years to come.

He shook the hands of each of the team members who took part in the finals before he was met with Councilman Ebiso. “A Council meeting has been called in thirty minutes. Just normal checking in and discussing missions executed in your absence. And of course the other thing,” Ebiso stated, waving off the last topic as if it meant nothing. Of course, Gaara knew he meant Cordelia and Aleera, which was likely the main reason for this meeting.

Gaara gave an understanding nod as Ebiso moved on to greet some other ninja. Temari scoffed, “The other thing. What? We can’t say her name in public?” as Gaara began to make his way down the steps.

Gaara didn’t remark on Temari’s annoyance, and instead decided to make his way home. It was still odd to him that he’d thought of the Kazekage tower as home, even though the majority of his life he saw it as his father’s domain, and home, for lack of a better word, was the small two-story house in downtown Suna by the school. At least it was a home for the first six years of his life with Yashamaru. When Baki was assigned to watch over him, it became more of a dwelling. But now the tower had been his home for the past five and a half years. Really, since Temari and Kankuro begged him to stay with them a couple months after their father’s passing.

It was an odd time, those first several months after the chunin exams. It took two weeks for Suna to realize Orochimaru’s full deceit when the council called in the three siblings to ask if they had received any word from their father after the Crush. Gaara didn’t hear anything, which wasn’t that odd, given he didn’t live with the man and their relationship was strenuous at best. But when Kankuro and Temari revealed that they had heard nothing for two weeks, and were starting to worry, Gaara also began to worry for them. The Anbu were sent to look for the Kazekage, and the three of them were issued into the confidential puppet government proceedings that the Suna Council would adopt when a Kazekage was missing. Kankuro and Temari maintained their distance, even though Gaara made clear actions to open up to them. Gaara would be the first to admit, he had no idea how to relate to them then, but he did try. Then Baki’s Anbu team returned with their father’s body. Temari and Kankuro mourned. Gaara didn’t know how to feel about the news. A large part of him was numb, and another part was sad that he was numb and not hurt by the news like his siblings. He felt out of place there, and he remembered turning to his siblings and saying _, “I’m sorry for your loss,”_ before turning to leave.

He remembered Kankuro snapping at him, _“That’s all you have to say? Our Dad’s dead. And you don’t even give a shit!”_ He remembered Temari trying to pull Kankuro back from picking a fight with Gaara. But Gaara understood Kankuro was just angry and needed a target. It wasn’t personal. And Gaara had turned a new leaf since Naruto. He wasn’t going to attack his brother for being hurt. So he paused, allowing his brother to aim his venomous words at him. Reminding himself Kankuro was just hurt and needed a target. He decided to leave when Kankuro spat, _“It should have been **you**. Not Dad!”_ Temari reprimanded the puppeteer immediately, but Gaara felt the sting of those words. Temari apologized quickly and said Kankuro didn’t mean it, but Gaara decided the best course of action was to leave.

The next day, Temari showed up at Gaara’s house to apologize for Kankuro, stating he didn’t mean a word of what he said, he was just too proud to admit any fault. Gaara accepted that, and commented he knew he was hurting. Temari reasoned that she knew Gaara was hurting too, even though she added he hid it well. She invited him to their father’s funeral, which was being held privately for only close family and friends. She reasoned that Gaara was as much a part of his family as her and Kankuro, and deserved to be there just the same. She also added that with them all being orphans now, it was important to strengthen their family bonds, since they were all each other had. Gaara realized she opened the door of opportunity to him and he agreed, happily taking his first step to becoming more like Naruto.

At the funeral, Kankuro at first was upset to see Gaara, until Temari waved him over to sit next to her. He was quiet during the ceremony, but he eventually made a half apology of his own, admitting he shouldn’t have said what he did. After that he did add that he didn’t think Gaara should have come. Son or not, Gaara hated their father. And Gaara found himself quoting his uncle for the first time in ages. _“It’s not easy for us to hate one another_.” It was word association, pure and simple. He blinked at that, wondering why that would come tumbling out. He cleared his throat before adding, _“I don’t think I hated him. But after he hired six assassination attempts on me as a child, I feel like I should. I don’t though, and because of that, I feel conflicted, if I’m being honest.”_ Kankuro didn’t know how to respond to that, so Gaara continued to confess, _“I think mostly, I’m disappointed. I was created and trained to be father’s weapon, but now …”_ He trailed off as he realized what he was feeling. Lost. He had a resolution to be more like Naruto, but he had now way of going about that. Meanwhile the purpose behind his creation, and thus his life and his sense of self, was now all but obliterated. What use was a weapon if it’s wielder was dead?

Kankuro seemed to recognize that in him, and said, _“You’re lost without him, too.”_ That was the first time Kankuro and Gaara really began to understand each other. They talked the rest of the supper. It was stilted at first, but then Kankuro began pointing out who was who, and how they knew their father, even making small jokes about them to Gaara quietly. Temari joined in shortly after, and that was the first time Gaara felt like he was actually their brother.

The few months after that, Temari began inviting Gaara for a weekly family dinner. Then a biweekly dinner as they grew more accustomed to their new bonds. Months later, well after the Sasuke thing, the Council issued a notice that they would be searching for a new Kazekage, and therefore Temari and Kankuro needed to vacate the penthouse for whoever took over, Gaara saw another chance to be useful to his siblings and take another large step towards being like Naruto. By becoming Kazekage. When he submitted his candidacy, his siblings invited him to move in, and after he passed his tests and earned the title, he accepted.

“What are you thinking about?” Temari asked. They’d made it almost halfway through the town, silently walking with small waves in response to others greeting them.

“Home,” he answered blandly.

Temari nodded sagely as she sighed, “It’s nice to be home.”

“Yes,” he replied agreeably.

They comfortably continued their pace in silence, nearing the base of the tower before Temari asked, “What do you think Kankuro and Cordelia have been up to?”

His eyes widened at the sudden plummet his heart took just thinking of that question. Gaara liked to think he could trust Kankuro with anything, but he’d be foolish to think he could trust him with reasonably attractive woman he wasn’t related to. And with the dream a few nights ago still weighing heavily on his mind, Gaara wasn’t sure what to feel about Cordelia. Not to mention the dream hadn’t been a one-night show. Oh no. It had repeated last night and the night before, and the night before that. Each slightly varied, because his dream-self remembered the first dream. The cause never changed, neither the people. Just slight differences in the act itself. Over the last three nights, he’d had her several different ways, each until she was gasping his name with throaty moans. In his dreams at least. And that was the problem. They were so vivid, he was beginning to wonder if he was just lusting for her or if the dreams meant he was harboring deeper feelings for her he didn’t yet understand.

Not to mention Dream Cordelia wasn’t the same as Real Cordelia. Last they talked, she’d called him “a heartless son of a bitch.” To be honest, he didn’t know where to go from that. He’d never experienced someone calling him something like that to his face. All things considered, he was a little bit impressed by that, because both he and she knew that he’d killed people for less. And maybe that’s exactly what brought on these dreams. The best he could hope for right now was that he’d see the real Cordelia, and this spell the Dream Cordelia had him under would shatter under Cordi’s somewhat annoyingly bombastic demeanor and vulgarity.

As he saw some of the council members making their way into the building as they walked up, he realized Cordelia wasn’t a problem he had to face immediately. He had a whole Council meeting to dread seeing her through.

“Temari!” someone called from the side. Temari and Gaara both turned to see who it was, and saw two of Temari’s childhood friends. Sen, a tall skinny woman with curly blonde hair, with another woman, Rinri if Gaara wasn’t mistaken. Rinri had dark hair and hazel eyes that popped against caramel skin. “We heard you were back. D’ya want to join us for lunch?”

Temari pursed her lips, shooting a worried glance at her youngest brother. Gaara could tell she was asking through her glance if he would be ok without her, and he gave a small nod. She smiled, then turned to her friends and quickly fell into an easy chat with them as they walked off towards the market district.

Gaara made his way inside and up to the Council chamber on the fourth floor. To accommodate the large Kazekage statues, it was the only room in the building that was two full stories from floor to ceiling, except for the lobby, but he wasn’t sure that counted, since it _was_ the lobby and the labeled second floor started at the base of the sphere of the tower. In all honesty, Gaara didn’t have a mind for architecture, so he didn’t question the design choices made when constructing the eighty-year-old building. The council room took up a third of both the fourth and fifth floors, which housed most of the higher-ranking offices, and to him again seemed illogical, but again he wasn’t an expert. Gaara’s office was on the fifth floor, situated in front of the elevators and half way between the main stairwell and the private stairwell leading to the sixth floor, the Kazekage Penthouse. The seventh floor, if it was even worth mentioning contained all the major equipment to make the building functional, and then the roof, where Gaara liked to look at the skyline and think, especially when faced with a particularly troublesome problem.

As he walked into the opened oak doors where council members were filing in for the meeting, Gaara found himself pausing at the doors, as his dream-self did the last few nights, and bracingly looking towards his chair to see if the Council had brought in the dream-table he’d used to violate Ms. Turner the past three nights. When the space behind his chair was blessedly empty, he breathed deeply through his nose and closed his eyes to focus and calm his heartbeat as he reminded himself that it was just a dream. One that would never happen in real life, under any circumstances.

“Lord Kazekage?” one of the Council members asked, pulling Gaara from his thoughts as he took in the full Council room with every member seated, except Kankuro’s Gaara noted. And Temari, he knew where she was.

“Sorry,” he mumbled as he made his way to his chair. He did point to Kankuro’s usual chair and ask, “Was Kankuro not informed of this meeting?”

“He joined Hiro’s team yesterday on a short mission to a border village near the Land of Rivers,” Baki answered gruffly. “He should be back this evening.”

So his brother had left Cordelia alone for two days. He wasn’t sure if that was better than Kankuro seducing her. But that didn’t matter now. He cleared his throat as he situated himself, crossing his arms as he said, “Well, then let’s get started.”

The Council filled him in on the missions carried out in his absence, the majority of which were genin missions, helping around the village and the region. Most of the C and B rank missions went to experienced chunin and younger jonin. Although, no A or S ranks were issued, as they needed direct Kazekage clearance first. Out of the updates, there were only a few things Gaara felt warranted of note. Kankuro was on a mission with Hiro’s team. Another jonin team was sent on a peace keeping mission to the Land of Earth to retrieve a daimyo’s stolen artifact from a bunch of thieves. Matsuri’s team was on a peace-keeping mission to the Land of Hills. And the Feudai Daimyo of the Land of Wind was looking to up his security, and was looking to Gaara to recommend some ninja for the job.

“Now, onto the main matter at hand,” Ebiso started, clearing his throat to draw the attention of the room. “Most of the Council has met Cordelia, but are unsure if she’ll be a valuable asset to the village.”

“I could sense that she has absolutely no chakra,” Councilwoman Mai spoke up, “which means she won’t be able to function as a normal ninja.”

“Even the taijutsu specialists we’ve added to our forces from your decree four years ago have chakra that allow them to move as a ninja should,” Councilman Reo added. “From Temari’s notes the Hokage has graciously sent to us, she’s the slowest of the five girls in speed. Temari set a standard academy length obstacle course that academy students usually take two minutes to clear. These girls averaged seven minutes with Cordelia coming at seven forty-five.”

“So, she’s not fast, and _can’t_ walk up walls. Are we also going to just forget Temari’s other notes on the girl’s prowess with controlling fire and _lightning_ ,” Riku argued. “Let’s also remember Temari noted their lack of chakra had no bearing on their elemental powers, and that using these powers don’t wear them down. Pakura with her scorch release was only able to handle three fireballs at a time before she needed to wait for her chakra to recharge.”

“You did not just compare this girl to Pakura,” Reo scoffed. Pakura was a hero to Suna who died when Gaara was very young. He barely remembered her, but did hear of her resurrection during the Fourth Great Ninja War. It was well known Reo came from the same family as Pakura. He was her cousin. So his offense at the comparison was understandable, but unwarranted.

“Cordelia has no such limitation,” Riku yelled over the offended Councilmember, shooting a small annoyed look at him. “Temari has noted this girl has summoned several pillars of fire _on accident,_ limitless fireballs, and remote combustion of a target with a flex of her hand. All without breaking a sweat or needing a moment’s pause. It’s well within reason she could summon a firestorm that could wipe out this whole village if she so chose. This girl also summoned a lightning bolt and was able to redirect it with incredible precision. Even the world’s strongest chakra based electrical attacks aren’t half as strong as an actual lightning bolt. And this is all just the tip of her prowess with only two weeks training. Are we really to ignore this?” Reo looked at his other Councilmembers incredulously at the implication.

Gaara had to admit, when phrased like that, Cordelia had power of monstrous proportions, and he was very thankful Temari took the initiative to train them all to control said powers. He only needed to look at the earthquake that delayed the exams for a good example of what that power could do unchecked.

“Not to mention her dragon more than makes up for any lack of speed,” Kiyoshi stated. “Sure, in a fight she won’t be fast. But getting from place to place, her dragon, according to current estimations, is much faster than the average jonin.” He let out a small bark of a laugh as he added, “That’s leaving out the flight test, which has yet to be conducted.” He turned to Gaara as he added, “Konoha has already sent their results for their dragons’ speed tests, and judging from Aleera’s ground speed test, her air speed we’re predicting to be very fast.”

This intrigued Gaara. “How fast?”

Kiyoshi smiled excitedly. “Seven hundred fifty kilometers per hour. Cruising speed, not sprinting.”

Gaara’s eyes bugged at that. “As in she could go faster?”

Kiyoshi positively grinned. “Much.” This caused a murmur to go around the table.

“If Lord Rasa was still Kazekage, she would never be a ninja,” Mai grumbled.

“Then it’s a good thing Lord Gaara is the Kazekage now, and not his father,” Riku snipped back. He rolled his eyes as he added, “No disrespect to the dead, but our taijutsu masters prove that Rasa had a habit of looking gift horses directly in the mouth.”

That immediately started an argument between the older Councilmembers and the younger, the conservatives and the progressives. Mai, Fuka, and Bunta were definitely on the older side, and had been Councilmembers longer than Gaara had been alive. Probably even from the third Kazekage’s reign. All three usually highly conservative, frequently harking back to the way things were done and tradition. Ebiso was the only one who might have been on since the second’s time, but he rarely got in between the political debates thrown at the table.

Kiyoshi, Reo, Toska, Baki and Haruko were appointed during Gaara’s father’s time. Both Toska and Kiyoshi were old friends of his father’s. Kiyoshi was also on his father’s genin team with Gaara’s mother. From what Gaara could tell, they easily fell in the midground in political leanings, with Reo and Toska being the more conservative, and Kiyoshi and Baki being more progressive and supportive with where Gaara was leading Suna. Haruko was very much the even mindset of the Council. She was highly traditional and followed a strict code of ethics in all things. But, one of those ethical rules was to never keep with a tradition that was also illogical. There were several times Mai thought Haruko would side with her and Bunta on an issue because it’s how it has always been done, only for Haruko to ask why such a procedure was still in place. Gaara respected that about her a lot.

Then there were the newer members. Riku was one of the more recent additions, joining the council just four years ago to replace Yura after Gaara lost the Shukaku. Several of the other Councilmembers during his time as Kazekage had been replaced, mostly from being caught leading coup attempts. Like Fugi, who committed seppuku when he was caught leading the coup attempt during Gaara’s first Chunin Exams as Kazekage, and was replace by Temari when Tsunade requested a Councilmember become an ambassador between Suna and Konoha to strengthen the villages’ bonds. Kankuro was added at Baki’s request after the first coup attempt not even a month after Gaara became Kazekage. Recognizing Kankuro’s ability to read a person better than Gaara, both Baki and Gaara felt Kankuro would provide good support, and one of the few who’d have Gaara’s best interests at heart. In Gaara’s time only five Councilmembers had been found attached to coup attempts. All have been thwarted clearly, as Gaara was still alive. Each had been replaced by Temari, Kankuro, Riku, and the newest addition a year and a half ago, Keiko, who was one of the three medical ninjas Gaara sent to Konoha after war to study under Tsunade and Sakura, and currently was head of the Medical Corps of Suna. Keiko was the youngest on the Council, other than Gaara himself, and specialized in field medicine, but was considered the most proficient in Suna in all aspects of medicine. For the most part, she stayed quiet in Council discussions unless it affected the medical community. The Council was still down a few members with the coup from March led by Tojuro. To be honest, Gaara didn’t feel the need to fill their voids immediately. Thirteen advisors was already enough to settle disputes against.

Ebiso slammed his empty cup loudly against the table as he called, “Quiet! Every one settle down!” The Council members quieted at the eldest member’s orders and slowly went back to their chairs as he huffed, “Now, we’ve already agreed on a suitable course of action. Tomorrow, Lord Gaara will test her skills in a sparring match with us all in attendance. As Kazekage, he will decide if she is skilled enough after the bout to become full fledge Suna shinobi.”

Gaara frowned at this, because that meant he would have to assign her a genin team in the off season, as the Suna Academy wouldn’t churn out any graduates until September. That was two months away. Gaara would have opened his mouth to poke holes if the elderly man looked as if he was done speaking.

He most definitely was not. “Given her circumstances, and her lack of chakra to keep up with a usual team, we think the best position for her now is as Lord Gaara’s assistant.”

That news blindsided him almost as bad as when Ebizo told him to take a wife. Gaara let out a strangled, “What?” He swore he heard his voice crack a little in surprise. He cleared his throat before he clarified, “I’ve … I’ve never needed an assistant before.”

“Perhaps it’s time you acquired one,” Haruko commented. “Lady Tsunade had one for her term as Hokage, as does Lord Kakashi. The Raikage has one. The Mizukage has one. With the steady increase in jobs and teams at Suna’s disposal, that means paperwork for you.” There was a mischievous sparkle in her eye as her gaze connected with his as she added, “Not to mention the increase in meetings for foreign diplomacy, maybe having an assistant will make sure you’re on time.”

Gaara pursed his lips but maintained eye contact, so she knew he got her jab.

“In all honesty, Lord Gaara, there’s nowhere else for her to go,” Toska added. “She has no family here for financial support, so she’s falling back on yours, which is problematic. Even if she becomes a ninja, she won’t be able to join a team. And because she’s from another world, that means she could be tied to another Otsotsuki plot –”

“Or not,” Baki added pointedly to Toska, as if reminding him through his glare that Gaara himself did invite her to live in Suna, and going against that judgement might not be prudent.

Toska huffed, giving a small eye roll to Gaara’s old teacher for his interruption. “Because of that, she needs to be under constant supervision of one of the Council members, which includes you.”

Gaara scoffed. “But she’s already living with me.”

“And now, she will also be working with you,” Toska added. Gaara opened his mouth to rebut him, but Toska held up a hand and said, “It was already put to a vote, and it won three to eight. So, even if you push for your vote be added, it won’t overturn.” He grabbed his drink as he finished with an odd sort of finality, “She’ll start as your assistant officially on Friday, the tenth. We suggest you train her for the position tomorrow afternoon after the bout.”

Gaara could only give an acquiescing nod. These were orders, not suggestions. Now he really hoped she could forgive him for telling Kakashi and the Council about her and her friends. Otherwise his job was about to get a thousand times harder.

Gaara stood awkwardly to dismiss himself stating, “Thank you all. I will go ahead tell Cordelia the current plans for her. And then, if you don’t mind, reset my clock.” They all knew he was referring to the fact Konoha was four hours ahead of them, and he needed to readjust to Suna’s time. The Council members stood, and gave a small bow, signaling Gaara was allowed to leave.

Tiredly, he made his way up to the penthouse, hoping Cordi was there to get this dread off his chest. If not, he would see her that night anyway. In all honesty, he was exhausted from travelling, and all he wanted was a nap. He past his office without even a curious glance at what was assuredly a ridiculous amount of paperwork waiting for him, and continued on to the penthouse staircase. As he made his way up the stairs, he heard something that never happened in the penthouse before. Music. His siblings never blared music louder than the village sirens. He got closer to the front door, and it got louder and louder. It was samba music. He’d recognize it anywhere. Samba was the cultural dance of Suna, and was played at every major festival, with scantily clad dancers swiveling their hips along with it. But it wasn’t a song he’d ever heard. This song had sultry guitar singing over the beat, and a strange organ sound accompanying it.

He reached for his key and unlocked it, and he realized with how loud the music was playing, there was no way he was heard coming in, even shutting the door normally. He ventured past the entryway, looking around for how Cordi had infiltrated his home. This music was clearly her handiwork. As he looked around, he saw nothing in the living room except her laptop set up to speakers and blaring the suspicious samba music. He walked towards it as the music dropped its volume to just it’s loud samba tempo, most likely to pick up again, even more stridently than before. He saw scrolling at the top of the screen above the odd, colorful visuals rippling in time with the music, “Oye Como Va – Santana.”

As the music climbed to a climax, he sensed movement from the back hallway, and he turned, seeing Cordelia arrive at the mouth of the hallway, swaying her hips violently with the climax of the beat. Lucky for him, she was looking down at the ground. It wasn’t often he was caught completely off guard by random happenstances, but this time his jaw dropped seeing that she was wearing was a black t-shirt that barely covered her butt with a cartoon picture of him emblazoned on it beside “Sabaku no Gaara” in stylistic letters, underwear, and nothing else. Clearly she had just gotten out of the shower, as her hair was still wet, and it moved as she snapped her head up, signing along with the music and continuing to samba perfectly into the kitchen. _“Oye como va, mi ritmo! Bueno pa’ gozar, mulata.”_ She opened the fridge, still swiveling her hips as she continued, _“Oye como va, mi ritmo! Bueno pa’ gozar, mulata,”_ before pulling out avocados, cilantro, a clove of garlic, and a lime, and placing them on the counter. She then continued to samba perfectly over to the pantry where she pulled out some salt, before bending over to give Gaara a perfect view of her white panty clad ass, still swiveling it in time with the music.

Gaara felt his heart drop to his stomach as his mouth and throat dried faster than the desert itself. His cheeks burned at the vision. This was wrong. This was very wrong. Surely, he should alert her to his presence. Cough or call her name _or something_.

She stood back up, still dancing as the music neared its final crescendo, placing a medium mixing bowl on the counter before looking up and shrieking. He gave a small wave, and after a moment, she gasped in relief with her hand over her heart as she took him in, before dropping down to lean on the marble counter tops with a small laugh, “Jesus, Gaara. You scared the shit outta’ me.”

“I’m sorry?” he more asked than stated. He awkwardly pointed to the door as he said, “I just … Should I come back later?” He closed his eyes with mild self-loathing as he realized this was his home and he was asking if **he** was unwelcome. Stuff like this was why he tried to avoid interactions outside his normal circles.

She waved him off as she said, “Don’t be ridiculous. I was just making some of my Dad’s quick guac before making a quesadilla. Do you want one?” Gaara opened his mouth to answer not to trouble herself, but again she waved him off as she laughed, “Of course you do. It’s twelve forty-five. You’re probably starving.”

She pulled out two tortillas, butter and cheese, and started putting together the ingredients.

Gaara cleared his throat, looking away as he felt the blood rushing to his cheeks. Looking away gave his mind some clarity while he searched for his words. “Are you sure you don’t want to get dressed first?”

“All my clothes are in the wash,” she replied, pointing to the laundry room on the other side of the kitchen wall as she dropped the butter on the skillet and it began to sizzle. “Otherwise I would be properly dressed,” she paused as she added self-deprecatingly, “and not wearing this shirt, which is its own circle of hell level of embarrassing.” She placed the cheese filled tortillas on the pan as she continued, “Especially now that your real, and I’m kind of living with you. I really should just burn it.” She flipped the tortillas, not turning around to face him as she segued not so subtly, “So, uhm, you’re back _early_.”

“Yes,” he mumbled, appreciating the change in topic, while also noting her subtext that the only reason he caught her in such a compromisingly personal moment was because she thought she had the penthouse to herself all day. “Our team was decimated in the first round.”

“Bummer,” she sighed, moving over to grab some plates. Gaara did his best not to look after his primary note of her was her legs were more toned than he was expecting. Her thighs were soft, but her calves had some definition to them that showed she wasn’t a stranger to training. He quickly realized such an observation was bound to lead nowhere good. “So, did you just get in?”

Gaara nodded as she turned, placing the quesadilla in front of him at the bar. “Uh, no. I had a Council meeting first.” He wasn’t sure if he should just go ahead and sit down to eat. She had placed her quesadilla on the island across from his, but she moved to peel the avocados, dicing them down and dropping them into the mixing bowl. As she steadily made the ‘guac’ as she called it, the silence between them grew.

He chanced another look at her, so many questions whirring through his mind. Her gaze flicked up to his while he stared, and she smiled weirdly. “What?”

He decided the best course of action was to pluck one of the questions whirring around his head and just ask it. “Why is there a picture of me on your shirt?”

She made an awkward wince as she cut into the lime and laughed, “I told you, you and your siblings were my favorite characters.” He made a face that still seemed to question that answer. She tongued her cheek, putting the knife down as she added, “Rox and I never got a lot of paraphernalia from our favorite animes because our parents thought we’d outgrow it. So when Lynne went to a convention last year, she got my sister and I shirts of our favorite characters and got them signed. See?” She stepped out to show him just above the hem on her hip was some writing in shiny gold marker that was a little faded.

“L B?” Gaara asked, confused by the only two letters he could make out.

“Liam O’Brian,” she clarified, going back to her guac. “He’s your voice actor in my world.” She rolled her eyes as she said, “That’s probably the most meta thing I’ve said since coming here.” She shook her head as she continued her slices, then squeezed the juice. “Anyway,” she sighed, “I usually just use it as a night shirt, because it’s really soft, which is why I packed it for vacation. But, since I’ve been rooming with your sister, I opted to keep it buried in my bag rather than look like a psycho. So, instead I’ve slept in and dirtied up all my camisoles, which are now being washed. And with all of you out, I felt much less weird about wearing the shirt.”

 _Until I ruined it,_ he inferred. Gaara furrowed his brow thoughtfully, then asked, “So, even after what happened, I’m still one of your favorite characters?” It was weird. After he asked it, he realized he was actually nervous about her answer.

She scoffed as she zested the garlic on a grater. “In all honesty, I’m finding through this whole experience that knowing you as a character is not the same as knowing you as a person.” She moved onto the cilantro as she continued, “I know and appreciate what you’ve been through and done, especially in the anime. So, my feelings about your character will never change, but my perception of you from the anime isn’t the real you. The real you is still making slow progress.”

He frowned at her answer, feeling a little insulted by her insinuation that he still had a long way to go to be a good person, but he supposed he somewhat understood. Her feelings for him from the first two weeks was much like admiration of an idol, like many ninja in Suna, especially his “fan-club” as Temari called the fervent kunoichi of Suna. He was only an ideal to her starting out, which would explain some of the awkward interactions between them.

She winced. “I’m sorry. I don’t think I’m wording it right.” If he was being honest, he thought she hit the nail on the head. But he didn’t want to interrupt her. She took a calming breath. “What I’m saying is I’m sorry. My prior knowledge of you as a character made me presume I knew you well enough to put you in a difficult position, and that my feelings would outweigh the other problems that I didn’t even know about, and which you’d have to take into account with your actions.” She licked her lips and looked away shamefully as she added, “And my reaction was unbecoming.”

“I betrayed your confidence, and you were justifiably angry,” Gaara stated evenly, admitting his own fault.

She held up a hand to silence him, which caused him to raise his hairless eyebrows. Not many people dared tell him to be quiet. “I called you a heartless S.O.B. Which you aren’t. And I definitely shouldn’t have insulted your mother like that. I’m sure she was a very nice lady.”

He pursed his lips, knowing she only meant it as a figure of speech to insult him, not his mother.

She scratched her head guiltily as she continued, “Kankuro explained that the hard-fought peace between the five major nations is still rather young and fragile. And the circumstances of my friends and my arrival put you and Kakashi in an awkward position, you even more so, because you had to figure out transit and housing for a dragon, which we essentially did all that for Kakashi. So, I asked something impossible of you, and reacted rashly and harshly when you didn’t pull through. For that, I’m sorry.”

He chewed on his cheek, then said, “Since we’re apologizing, I too am sorry I didn’t give you time to say goodbye to your friends and sister. The rush was for Lord Sixth’s sake, as well as the Council’s urgency, and in small part to get Kankuro out of the village after his hand in the earthquake. It was callous and unfeeling of me to assume you would be fine moving to a country where you are a complete stranger without a final word to those you care about.”

“Accepted,” she replied. She held up a finger quickly as she added, “I got you something.”

Now he frowned. She’d gotten him a gift. He wasn’t expecting that, and now he felt woefully ill-prepared.

She turned around and grabbed something off the counter on the other side of the fridge that he hadn’t seen and she turned around. His jaw slackened as he saw her holding a nicely potted prickly pear cactus with a few brilliant blooms on its bulbs. His heart did an odd flip as she held it out to him. “I remembered reading from the guidebooks that you like cultivating cacti. So when I saw this, I immediately thought of you, and thought it would be the best peace offering.”

His heart warmed as she handed it to him. She saw this beautiful cactus and thought of him. And bought it for him. After his last encounter with Cordelia, he never would have expected such a wonderful gesture from her. He smiled gently as he took in the colors of the flower. The center of the flower was a vibrant yellow with bright red tips on the end. It was a discus prickly pear if he wasn’t mistaken. “It’s beautiful. Thank you.” He frowned softly, remembering his first cactus, as he added, “Although, given you’ve just moved in, I should be giving you the cactus.” The only other person to give him a cactus, which started his hobby in the first place, was his siblings when he moved in with them. The barrel cactus was a house warming gift that was supposedly meant to symbolize good luck in a new beginning. They also got him the aloe plant sitting in his office when he became Kazekage.

Cordelia laughed as she replied jokingly, “Please don’t get me a plant. They tend to die around me.” She went back to mixing the guacamole.

Gaara eyed her a little sadly. “They just need water, sunlight, and care.”

“Yes, but unlike an animal, plants don’t tell you when they need it.”

“Then maybe you just need to practice,” he offered.

She rolled her eyes as she scoffed. “Yes. The desert is the perfect place to practice gardening skills.”

Her joke brought a small smile to his face as he shook his head. “So, how are you finding Suna?” he decided to ask, taking a bite out of his quesadilla. It was very cheesy and tasted rather nice, if not plain.

She pursed her lips as she finished mixing the avocado dip, then spooned some onto her quesadilla before taking a bite and stating, “It’s weird. Every time Suna was featured in the show, they’d give it middle eastern to Indian style music, with sitars and the generic Arabian style of singing. So, when I came here, I was expecting Arabian with some Japanese thrown in. Then walking around town yesterday, I find adverts for samba festivals with full Carnivale feather regalia. Food vendors selling Latin fusion food. You’ve got Brazilian Barbeque steakhouses, which you just call barbeque here. You’ve got wild west saloon doors some places, which is culturally speaking from my own country. Even the structures of the buildings are incredibly similar to my country’s desert cities.”

This caused him to raise an eyebrow. “Funny. From what your friends said, I assumed you came from a forested country.”

Cordelia shook her head as she swallowed another bite. “My country is huge. We’ve got six different biome regions. We’ve got tropical volcanic islands, an arctic ice tundra, two large forest biomes, grassy plains, and a desert biome that spans ten to twelve of the fifty states. I mean, Spain settled that area originally anyway, but after the Spanish-American War, we got them.” She waved it off as if it meant nothing, but Gaara was interested by that fact. “Which reminds me, I saw people busking with Spanish guitar music, and Spanish lutes. And, of course, I’m throwing all these words at you like Brazilian and Spanish, and you have no clue what I’m talking about. But they’re on opposite sides of the world. From the Arabian region, I mean. Brazil was settled by Portugal, which is a neighboring country to Spain, so that makes sense. But I came here thinking Arabian, maybe Jordan, and those countries aren’t even on the same continent or remotely culturally related.

“Then you add the Japanese influence, because that’s where the show’s from, and it’s all really bizarre. It’s …” She shook her head trying to find a way to describe it, then snapped her fingers as she said, “It’s Taco-Sushi.”

He quirked his head at that. He wasn’t sure exactly what that meant. “Taco-Sushi?”

“Yeah. It’s restaurant my parents like to go to. Japanese and TexMex fusion. It sounds bad, but then you eat there, and it’s not bad, just pleasantly weird. You wouldn’t think to put them together.” She gestured to the general area around them as she finished, “Suna is just Taco-Sushi on every cultural scale. Food, music, art, style. That’s the best way I can describe it.”

“So, you think Suna is pleasantly weird?” Gaara asked, unsure of her analogy. He guessed it was probably difficult to understand since he’d never experienced her world.

She chewed her lip as she spread more guac on her quesadilla. “Well, it reminds me of home, but not quite. It’s an odd mix of what is familiar to me but dissimilar, making it unfamiliar.” She sighed as she took another few bites before gesturing to her computer and stating, “That’s why I put on some Santana. He was one of my Dad’s favorite guitarists, and we’d listen to his music all the time. He’s famous for his latin music vibes. Y’know, more taco than sushi. I felt like I needed something familiar.”

“Yes,” Gaara murmured with a small smile as he recalled, “Am I right in assuming the Samba is one of your national dances?”

Cordelia laughed and shook her head. “No, that’s Brazilian.” When he quirked his head at that, looking back to the entrance of the hallway, she sighed with a nod. “Yes, I do know how to samba. My sister and I were on our high school soccer team, and our coach requested everyone take latin dance classes leading up to the soccer season. Apparently, it significantly helps with footwork and movement, and he didn’t want us getting rusty.” She stuffed the last bite of quesadilla in her mouth and dusted off her hands as she added, “In my world, Brazilians tend to be the best soccer players.”

He made an intrigued face, then stated, “Not many people outside Suna know how to samba.”

She gave him a curious look. “So, is the Samba a Suna thing in this world?”

He bobbed his head. “It’s our cultural dance. It’s done at almost every festival.”

She shot him a mischievous smile as she asked, “So, do you like to samba?”

Gaara’s face fell at the question. “Ah, no,” he said as he cleared his throat. He gave a small pursed smile as he clarified, “I don’t dance.”

“Oh, shame!” Cordelia laughed, throwing her head back elegantly. “The Kazekage doesn’t even know his own village’s cultural dance?”

His brow furrowed as he crossed his arms. “It’s not exactly a job requirement,” he stated defensively.

“So?” she scoffed back. “It’s a cultural staple of your village. As head of that village, shouldn’t you at least know the basics?” He opened his mouth to refute her, and she shook her head and stood, offering her hand. “Stand up.”

He frowned at her as if she were crazy. “What?” he almost croaked.

“Stand up. I’m going to teach you how to samba.”

He shook his head. “No.”

“Oh, come on. I already have the music playing,” she argued.

He shook his head again.

She looked him over appraisingly, then smirked, “It’ll help with your taijutsu.” He looked at her, clearly doubting that claim heavily. She held her hands up as she said, “Studies in my world show learning to dance significantly improves martial artists’ fighting prowess by teaching rhythm, balance, and dance steps that can be used for evasive maneuvers or misdirection.”

He eyed her carefully before asking, “What makes you think I want to work on my taijutsu?”

“ _Please_ ,” she scoffed again. She held up a hand and ticked off a finger for each reason as she said, “You’re a ninja. You’re a Kage, meaning you have to be well-versed in ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu. And you’re forgetting I’ve seen you fight, which mainly consists of you in a power stance and occasionally moving your arms.” She shrugged sarcastically as she added, “Doesn’t take a genius to know taijutsu isn’t your specialty.”

He scowled at her, hating her for knowing that. She was a walking encyclopedia of his weaknesses, and he hated that.

She offered her hand again as she ordered again, “Stand up.”

He looked to the ground, not believing he was doing this, but grabbed her hand and stood. “Ok, so the rhythm of a samba is in mostly eighth notes. So, one- and two- and three- and four- and …” she explained, speaking out the rhythm, “with each step set going to eight.” She had him stand across from her first as she started her lesson, performing the steps as she counted, then again slowly for him to see, then pausing to see him try. He felt foolish when he tried them, and he felt wrong watching her move in such a provocative manner, especially since she was only wearing a t-shirt and underwear, still. She assured him the swivels would come later when he commented, “It doesn’t look like I’m samba-ing.” Once she felt he’d learned the basic steps enough, she had him hold onto her as they danced. She placed his right hand between her waist and shoulder blade with her left hand resting delicately on his shoulder, their other hands conjoined and held up away from themselves. “You lead here. I’ll count for you.”

His nerves swelled at the thought that he was leading her in this dance that he barely knew the steps or movements. But she started counting to the beat of the song, and that meant he had to act. He started a little prematurely, and stepped on her foot, causing her to hiss. “Sorry,” he breathed.

“Don’t worry about it,” she said quickly, brushing it off as she offered, “I’ll just count again.” And she did.

He looked down at his feet to make sure they were moving correctly, but then saw her feet weren’t moving the same as his, but instead moving in mirror. He mis-stepped again, and she hissed at her foot pain again. “Sorry,” he mumbled again. This was a bad idea. He was horrible at this. As they started again, he grumbled, “I think dancing is just not my forte.”

“You’d probably be doing better if you looked up and stopped overthinking your movements,” Cordi offered. He frowned at her as he slowed, and she said, “Keep moving.” He resumed as she added, “I’ll prove it. I’ll stop counting, and we’ll just chat.”

“Chat?” He sounded skeptical.

“Yeah. Like, tell me something I don’t know about you.”

He made a face as he asked, “Like what?” He stepped on her foot again and she winced. “Sorry,” he grumbled again. He was beginning to sound like a broken record.

“What’s your favorite color?”

He paused to think. “I don’t know,” he confessed. “Probably blue or green.”

She eyed him strangely. “Really? Not burgundy?”

“No.”

“But you wear it … _all the time_.”

He shrugged. “That’s just my battle clothes.”

“So, it’s a strategic color?” she inferred. He remained silent. She smirked as she said, “Kind of reminds me of a joke my dad loved to tell.” He looked at her, waiting for her to share it. She smiled, licking her lips before starting, “Ok. So there’s an old warship sailing the high seas. The lookout in the crow’s nest calls out, ‘Enemy ship on the horizon!’ The captain turns to one of his men, and says, ‘Bring me my red shirt.’ The man thought it was weird, but got it for him anyway, and the captain wears it into battle. The men fight bravely, and the ship comes out unscathed with its victory. The next day, the man finds the captain and asks, ‘Sir, I have to ask, why did you ask for your red shirt before the battle.’ The captain answered, ‘Because if I happen to be shot in the battle, the crew would not notice me bleeding, and continue to fight on.’ The man was surprised by the wisdom in that statement. A moment later, the man in the crow’s nest called out, ‘Twenty enemy ships on the horizon!’ The captain turned to the man and said, ‘Bring me my brown pants.’”

He pursed his lips, trying not to laugh as Cordi chuckled at her own joke. She grinned at him as she chided, “I can see you’re trying not to laugh.”

He allowed himself a small laugh as he said, “Alright. It was a little funny.”

“I can tell you more jokes if you want,” she offered. She grinned mischievously as she said, “Can a ninja throw a star?” He frowned at her weirdly, and her grin widened as she said, “Shurikan.”

He closed his eyes and shook his head disappointedly. “That’s a terrible joke.”

She nodded. “It is a dad joke. They’re supposed to be puns. Hold on, I got some more ninja jokes.”

“Please spare me,” he breathed.

“What is an office ninja’s greatest weapon?”

He grimaced. He shouldn’t be encouraging this. “What?”

“The element of supplies.”

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. No, a bad joke like that wasn’t going to get him to crack.

“What do you call a redheaded ninja?”

“Me?”

“A ginja.”

He shook his head disappointedly. “That’s dumb.”

She looked at him carefully, a mischievous glint in her eye. He didn’t like that look. “Did you hear about the premature ejaculator that’s training to be a ninja?” He looked at her tensely as she laughed, “Guy’s a natural. He comes out of nowhere.”

He did his best to suppress a chuckle through his nose. “That is bad,” he finally managed.

“Well,” she huffed, “I would tell you Naruto jokes, but they’d probably go over your head, or you’d take them too seriously.”

“They wouldn’t go over my head,” he argued.

“Why did Naruto keep chasing after Sasuke?” she asked, an eyebrow raised challengingly at him. He knew the answer was Naruto wasn’t one to give up on people, but as a joke, he wasn’t sure what the answer was, so he shrugged. “Because no one forgets their first kiss.”

He actually stopped at that. “What?” he croaked. That couldn’t be real.

“Didn’t know that one, did you?” Cordi asked with a smirk, pulling him easily back in the dance.

“Naruto would never kiss a man, much less Sasuke,” Gaara reasoned.

“Well, it’s not like he did it on purpose,” Cordi corrected. Gaara was floored by this knowledge as she explained. “It was the day of their ninja academy graduation, before they got their team assignments. Naruto was squatting precariously on Sasuke’s desk, because Sasuke had said something he took offense to. And Shikamaru leaned back in his chair, which knocked Naruto into him.” She smiled knowingly as she added, “It caused quite a commotion.”

Gaara shook his head. “I don’t believe it.”

“I have the episode on my computer if you need proof.” Again, he shook his head no. She laughed. “You know,” she drawled, “before I shocked you with that fun fact, you hadn’t made one misstep while we were dancing.”

He frowned as he looked back to his feet. They were moving with ease, his legs in perfect time with her bare legs. He’d almost forgotten she was half naked. He looked up with an odd smile, trying to hide his thoughts. “Huh.”

Cordi smirked as she said a little quietly, “I guess you’re better than you think you are.”

It sounded so intimate to him. He didn’t know why, but his heart flipped just at her tone. He chanced a look at her eyes and was met with the same gaze from his dreams. All fire and challenge. Stirring to life his dreams and fantasies from the past few nights. And he felt himself blush. She noticed it, and smiled.

Before she could comment, the laundry chimed, announcing that it was finished. He broke away quickly with a small bow at his neck. “Perhaps you should get dressed, now that your clothes are done,” he commented.

She blushed, muttering a small, “Yeah.” She moved towards the laundry room, scratching her head awkwardly.

“Thank you,” he said quickly, causing her to pause and turn. He gestured to the music as it sang its chorus, “Ay, oh ay, oh ay, oh ay, and the voices rang like the angels sing.” “For teaching me the dance. … And the cactus,” he added clumsily.

She shrugged. “Don’t mention it.” She shot him a sincerely happy smile before going back to her clothes.

Gaara decided that was a prime time for his exit, grabbing the new plant and heading back to his room. He took the cactus out to his deck off his bedroom where he’d kept most of his cacti. It was walled off from the other decks, so the master bedroom’s deck and Cordelia’s bedroom deck. The only room in the penthouse that didn’t have its own deck was Kankuro’s room, which was bumped out to accommodate his puppet workshop. Other than the master, Kankuro’s room was the biggest room with a walk-in closet.

Gaara liked his own bedroom with his small deck for his plants. He set the new cactus on a small table next to the barrel cactus his siblings gave him so long ago, which had grown to the point of needing to be put on the ground, leaving the table it used to sit on bare for a little over half a year. The barrel cactus had budded and bloomed just a few weeks ago before he left and was haloed in peachy flowers. Its colors looked nice against the new prickly pear’s blooms. He had another prickly pear in the opposite corner he’d bought on a whim shortly after becoming Kazekage. It sat in its raised pot in the other corner of the deck, a bright red blossom reaching for the sun.

He grabbed his watering can and went back to his bathroom, filling it before going back out to water his cacti and his small hanging planter of succulents. He had to be careful to make sure not to over water them, even though he’d been gone for a while. He didn’t want the roots to rot from the saturation. When he finished, he finally sat in his deck chair and closed his eyes peacefully. Finally, he was home.

*~*~*

A knock sounded at the door as Kakashi finally finished the paperwork finalizing the plans to refurbish the library. He looked at his clock, and saw it was twelve forty-five. Time for lunch. He rubbed his eyes, supposing now was a good time to stop. He dropped his pen and called out, “Enter.”

He was surprised to see Shikamaru Nara walk in looking apprehensive. Kakashi could tell immediately that he had a request about the girls. “Shikamaru?” Kakashi addressed, leaning over his desk, somewhat suspiciously. He’d only been training the girls a few days now. “Is there a problem?”

“Just wanted to give you our reports so far for the girls’ preliminary tests, with Hinata’s notes,” Shikamaru explained, holding up a folder.

Kakashi gave a tired nod, and gestured to the corner of his desk where a paper tray sat. It was still lined with paperwork yet to be done. Shikamaru set his folder on top before adding tiredly, “We also figured that Hinata will not be able to see how the powers of the girls works as well as Sasuke. She’s noted as best as she can observe them, and has offered to continue her observations, but we both feel Sasuke’s eyes might be better equipped to understand how their powers work.”

Kakashi pursed his lips. Shikamaru and Hinata wouldn’t make this suggestion lightly. He interlocked his fingers as he murmured, “Sasuke was just here two weeks ago. He won’t be back for almost a month at the earliest.”

“Is there no way to summon him?” Shikamaru asked.

Kakashi shook his head. “I’m afraid not.”

Shikamaru grimaced. “It was worth a shot. We’ll continue to monitor the girls progress, but the next time you see him, tell him what’s happened, and that we need his assistance for at most a week.”

Kakashi scoffed. “He’s not going to like that.” On the outside, it seemed like a small request, but Sasuke’s leads left him very little down time. A week could be the difference between stopping the Otsotsuki and losing the next battle of Earth. And there was another battle coming, of this Kakashi was mostly certain. “Thank you,” Kakashi offered with a small bow.

Shikamaru bowed back before leaving. He wasn’t expecting the meeting to be long. He did what he needed to do, then made his way towards the practice fields. He’d already eaten his lunch. It didn’t take him too long to arrive. He arrived five minutes before the girls would arrive.

Hinata arrived shortly after. “Hello, Shikamaru.”

“Hey,” he grumbled.

“Did you talk to Lord Kakashi?” she asked crossing the clearing towards him.

He nodded vaguely.

“And?”

“And Sasuke won’t be back for another month at the earliest.”

Hinata’s shoulders dropped a little as she uttered a small, “Oh.”

Shikamaru scratched his head as he offered, “He did say he’d talk to Sasuke the next time he sees him.” He looked down, pursing his lips in thought. It would be better to train them with Sasuke’s input early, rather than waste a month waiting for him. That’s even if he agrees to pause his own missions to check them out. Shikamaru wouldn’t voice it, but he had a feeling it wasn’t going to happen.

“Well, that’s something,” Hinata sighed hopefully, looking off toward the training field entrance where the other worldly girls made their way in. “I can keep observing them until we get his input.” When she noticed Shikamaru hadn’t even looked up from the ground, she poked him. “Hey,” she whispered, “they’re here.”

Shikamaru looked up, and the vision he was met with caused his breath to suddenly get caught in throat. The other girls surrounded Rox to make her stand out more than before. She wore tight, form hugging purple pants, a black tank top that dipped so low at the arms and collar that her gray sports bra. For a brain-dead moment, he stared at her with his mouth slightly agape as her eyes flashed up to his, and a happy smile graced her beautiful lips. Lips that he’d kissed several times before, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t forget the feel of them. Her dark hair was tied in a high ponytail and her skin glowed today with her smile, more so than the previous days. It was the perfect length to grab and hold her in position for him to kiss down her neck, immobilizing her as he’d push into her and make her moan.

He blinked hard, stopping his thought process and taking a deep breath before he turned to avert his eyes. This was problematic. He chanced a look back at Rox to confirm that it wasn’t just an intrusive thought. The quick glance showing him soft curves, intelligent eyes, and full lips. He realized quickly that he wanted to do carnal things to Rox. Things he thought about a lot during the festival, but didn’t act on, then thought about even more so after the earthquake.

He turned again, mentally berating himself that she was off limits. No matter how much of a taste he wanted it.

Hinata eyed him curiously before glancing back at the girls.

Shikamaru didn’t care about the Hyuga heiress’s curiosity. All he knew was these feelings he had for the wind girl were a problem.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: This is the longest chapter I’ve written … ever, I think. 20,400 words. It’s a lot. I’ve also had to cut this chapter in half, just because the length was so long. But because of that, I’m able to fit in another plot twist in the next chapter which should be fun. Sorry this took so long. Just the length meant it took longer to write and edit. Please remember to like, follow, and review!
> 
> PS: I'm so upset now that I've uploaded this already to FFN and now here that I should have renamed the title "Something About Turners". F***! I'll use it at another point. I'm so angry at myself.


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven: Toeing the Line**

Fred sat alone at Ichiraku’s, finishing up her dinner before she had to go to the bar for work. Lynne ducked out when she saw Naruto, and began pestering him about some guy named Sasuke Uchiha. Fred remembered from the many conversations around the lunch table that Sasuke was the hottie “everyone” loved in Naruto. She said “everyone” because literally in their group, only Lynne liked Sasuke. Both Rox and Cordi said he was a grade A douche-canoe. Ronnie was kind of meh on the subject. But, it was a fact that he was the most beloved character in the franchise, technically, if they went by the poll numbers. Seriously, Fred felt she already knew too much about a show she didn’t care one iota about just from those lunchtime conversations.

Rox had finished her ramen early and left to call her sister. After their shopping trip, Rox was fully stocked with an arsenal of hot training clothes to make Shikamaru sweat. Fred couldn’t be prouder of her. Rox was the type of girl that if something didn’t work out, she’d let it be, and happily do nothing for the rest of her life. But that wasn’t a way to live, Fred felt. Life required risk sometimes. You couldn’t find happiness unless you were willing to put everything on the line for it.

So, Fred ate alone at the ramen bar. It wasn’t the first time, and she doubted it was the last either. The ramen bar was run by an old man named Teuchi and his daughter Ayame. Ayame was pretty, but unassuming. She had mousy brown hair, and dark eyes that were very pretty when she smiled.

“Hello?” someone called, ducking under Ichiraku’s curtains. Fred turned to see their teacher, Iruka stepping in with a friendly smile.

“Iruka?” Ayame gasped with a bigger smile than usual. “Hi.” There was a long pause as Ayame stared at the teacher for a moment before a small blush crossed her cheeks. “Are you picking up, or …”

“Picking up,” Iruka stated. He wrinkled his nose, his scar scrunching weirdly as he said, “I have a ton of tests to grade tonight.”

“Your regular, I’m assuming then,” Ayame offered. The way she stared at Iruka made it clear to Fred that the ramen girl had a thing for the teacher. Fred pursed her lips, reminding herself she shouldn’t be sticking her nose in other people’s relationships so much.

Iruka gave an affirmative nod, and Ayame whisked herself off to make it for him. Iruka put his hands in his pockets, taking a long look around the establishment before noticing Fred. “Oh. Hello. I didn’t see you there. Fred, right?”

“Yes,” Fred stated. She originally didn’t want to bring attention to herself. It was always awkward seeing your teacher out in the real world.

“How are you doing?” he asked, clearly making polite conversation.

“I’m doing well,” Fred answered hesitantly. “I’m just grabbing dinner before my shift.” He frowned at that. “I took your advice, and got another job while we do all this training and stuff.”

“You did?”

She jutted her thumb over her shoulder, as if gesturing to a bar across the street. It wasn’t. It was five blocks closer the Hokage building. “Yeah. I bartend at the Nomu Ki Bar. It’s pretty good money.”

“I’m glad to hear you’re settling in.”

“Yeah,” Fred finished awkwardly. That would have been the end of the brief conversation if it wasn’t for the fact she noticed Iruka staring at the back door to the kitchen pretty intently. More intently than just waiting for food. “You know she likes you,” Fred commented, knowing she would regret it as soon as she said it, but it was out of the bag now. “Ayame, I mean.” She decided to go ahead and pay. Her shift started in fifteen minutes, and she had to get down there.

“What?” Iruka chirped, dragging his eyes away from the door to address Fred.

“She likes you,” Fred clarified, putting her money under her almost empty bowl. She shrugged as she stood, adding, “I’m just paying you back for the advice on the job with some of my own. The way you’re staring, I get the sense you like her too. You’re both adults. So ask her out.”

“What? I don’t- I mean she wou-“

Fred turned to walk out as she finished, “I’m just telling you what I see. Do with that knowledge whatever you will.” She shot the now nervous teacher a pursed smile as she said, “I’m running late for work. I’ll see you tomorrow in class.” With that, she left Iruka probably more nervous now than before.

*~*~*

Cordi stood outside of the Suna arena where Gaara informed her last night where she was to report for her assessment. This was during last night’s dinner, before Kankuro returned from his mission. Cordi got the feeling Temari was upset with her, but she didn’t get to go into it with her. Temari instead stated she needed to get used to Suna time, and went to sleep early. Gaara went to his office to catch up on some work, since he was predicting this assessment would take some time.

Cordi fidgeted with her claddagh ring as nerves seized her, and she steadily paced at the entry doors, waiting for one of the Councilmembers to come get her. She didn’t know what to expect. She wasn’t a fighter. Well, maybe verbally, but she’d never thrown a punch. If they asked her to attack someone with the intention of harming them, she wasn’t sure if she’d be able to do it. Then again, if someone came at her, maybe she would act. She’d never been in that position. She just didn’t know.

She wore basic workout clothes with good flexibility to not hinder her movements. Black yoga pants, a red crop top and white short-sleeved bolero hoodie. The only part of her outfit that would have raised eyebrows were her iron-toed combat boots that went halfway up her calf. They had a slight heel and platform. The heel was an espadrille style, so it was easy to run in them. She’d found them for sale, and they were easily her favorite pair, but what made them ideal for a fight was the iron-toe. Perfect protection, and let her deal extra damage if she needed to kick someone.

The doors suddenly swung open, and she froze her pacing, seeing no one there. She made a cautious step through the door. Then another. She looked around, trying to get her bearing as best as she could as she continued in.

Gaara stood in the center of the sandy arena, arms crossed in his standard fighting stance. As she looked around, she noted it looked like a smaller version of the Roman Coliseum. On the arena walls stood more Councilmembers than she met when she arrived. Temari stood there with Kankuro, and their old team leader, Baki. Cordi didn’t realize they were all going to watch her. She gulped back her nerves seeing all the eyes on her.

“Cordelia Turner,” Gaara called out from the center of the arena. “For your assessment, you are tasked with retrieving this flag.” Cordi turned towards him seeing he gestured to a white sash that was tied to his belt, opposite his gourd.

Cordi pointed at his waist and asked, “That flag?”

He nodded boredly.

She let out a harsh laugh.

He looked at her curiously. “You think it’s too easy?”

“More like impossible,” she replied. She pointed at the ground, stating, “Don’t think I didn’t notice you control the ground.”

He gave a small shrug. “Sometimes ninja fight fights with insurmountable odds.”

She did her best to suppress an eyeroll as she said, “Yeah, never give up and never go back on my word. Naruto’s whole nindo, right?” Gaara’s eyes flicked his recognition, and she smirked. “It’s all about how I approach the fight.”

“Begin,” he called.

She didn’t move, careful to watch for his first move. He quirked his head slightly at her inaction, but didn’t say anything. It was only when she noticed her eye level was lowering did she notice he was pulling her under with his sand. Subconsciously, fire shot out of her feet, propelling herself up like a rocket. She quickly shot up over a hundred feet in the air, and she let out an involuntary yelp as she arced through the air. She threw her hands in front of her with fire shooting out of them that immediately steadied her. She chanced opening her eyes, seeing Gaara looking up at her, but he and the Councilmembers were so small, she couldn’t make out their expressions.

Her heart pounded as she saw the world seemingly shrinking away from her. She knew it was just her fear of heights playing on her mind, but she couldn’t help the curse-words tumbling out of her mouth. “Shitshitshitshitshit.” She tried to move her hands, but it pushed her back several yards, so she put her hands right back. “Oh, this is bad,” she breathed. She licked her lips, trying to think of her options. She noticed Gaara gathering his sand and … was it shooting up. “Can … Can we pause for a moment?” Cordi called down, seeing the encroaching sand. “This … This is new, and I don’t know the controls yet.”

“No,” Gaara called back.

“Oh, you motherfucker!” she howled. Below she heard Kankuro cackle, and she bellowed, “Shut up, Kankuro!”

The sand was a second away, and she winced as she leaned right, then shot right, dodging the sand with ease. She threw her right hand up, and she slowed, now fifty feet away from where she started. “Ok. Ok.” She tried her best to think of an example to mimic, and remembered watching Iron Man, how he flew with the thrusters. “Think like Iron Man,” she told herself, and put herself in the same position he used to fly, and immediately she shot forward, she angled herself, and she turned, spiraling down back to the arena. She laughed as she called out, “I think I’m getting the hang of it!”

A wall of sand shot up in front of her, and she angled up, narrowly missing colliding with it. She let out an involuntary whoop as she realized she’d never felt so fast in her life. She looked down, seeing the sand couldn’t keep up with her, and she was high enough to see almost all of Suna. She could almost touch the clouds. The air was light, and she knew she’d gone too far without a breathing apparatus. She cut her flames, and fell down, angling herself into a dive. She tucked her arms back, slimming herself down and letting gravity accelerate her. This was surely suicidal, but thrilling. Her flames kicked back to life, rocketing her back towards earth. Her stomach felt as if it was flying out her ass, and she let out a laughing scream.

As she closed in on the arena, she noticed Gaara was no longer there, and she threw her hands up, stopping herself enough to hover twenty feet above the ground. Quickly, she looked up, knowing Gaara could levitate on a platform of sand. Maybe she’d gone out of his reach, and he felt he needed to float to catch her.

As soon as her eyes caught his, she felt something encasing her wrist, then arm, dragging her back to Earth. She struggled as his sand captured her, cursing all the while. Gaara landed in front of her with ease. “You learn quickly.”

“Well, it was either that, or dying,” Cordi snarked back as the sand covered her body and immobilized her. She was a little thankful for that, because her body began to feel a little off, like she’d just come off the most extreme rollercoasters. She could feel herself shaking under the sand from the adrenaline.

He pursed his lips. “Well, now that I’ve captured you …”

“You think I can’t get out of this?” she interrupted him.

He frowned at her curiously.

She smirked. “I think you forgot,” she stated, her muscles in her neck straining. Her eyes landed on his as she finished, “I know your sand’s weakness.”

He only had a moment to react, as fear crossed his eyes at her statement just before she was struck by lightning out of nowhere, throwing him back as the ground around her was electrified with a billion volts. She could feel the electricity rippling through the ground as she tried to focus through her ears ringing, feeling the sand fall away with ease. Gaara looked dazed as he stood, holding his hand up to pull his sand up around him, but it didn’t move.

Her hearing slowly came back as she called to him, “I’ve short-circuited your electro-magnets. You can’t use your sand until it stabilizes.” She smirked with a nonchalant shrug as she said, “So now…”

He squinted at her, lifting his hands, readying to fight hand to hand. She felt a little proud seeing him look somewhat nervous now. She was going to make this quick. She jumped at him, using flames at her feet to rocket herself towards him. Again, he only had a moment to react, but her shoulder connected with his sternum, and she wrapped her arms around him. The force of her body against his knocked them back, and they skidded against the ground for a few yards. He coughed as his diaphragm spasmed from the impact.

“Damn,” he coughed, trying to gather his thoughts. What the Hell had just happened?

“Language Gaara,” Cordi chuckled as she clumsily stood, jostling something at his waist. She stood, waving the white sash in front of him with a cheeky grin. “Looks like I wo- ohurk,” she groaned, dropping the sash and stumbling two feet away as her body caught up to her, vomiting up whatever contents she had in her stomach.

There was a chorus of “Ooh” from the councilmembers as she continued to vomit. Gaara tried to stand, seeing Cordi bent over and holding herself up by her knees. The effects of being blasted back from the lightning were wearing off, even though he still couldn’t move his sand, which was troubling. His diaphragm calmed down from her tackle, and he walked towards her, making sure to steer clear of the mess as he asked, “Are you alright?”

She spat and gasped from her heaving. “Just motion sickness,” she grumbled. He could see she was shaking all over, and he realized her adrenaline had sapped her strength.

“Do you need to sit down?” Gaara asked. When she only responded with a bitter laugh, and her fingertips digging into her knees, he looked up at the councilmembers, then waved at one, calling, “Keiko. Some assistance.”

A younger woman jumped down, probably about Kankuro’s age. She swiftly made her way to the fire user, and began to help her sit down. She tried to get her to lie down, but Cordi demanded she just sit, and tried to put her head between her knees, although Keiko wanted to check her eyes. Cordi let out a groan as several of the other councilmembers joined around her, each deftly dodging her puke. Keiko got to work checking her vitals, as Cordi tried to say, “I’m fine. Seriously. I wasn’t ready for zero Gs. It happens.”

Gaara frowned and looked at Keiko for clarification. Keiko only shrugged.

Cordi scoffed, “Oh, come on. Ya’ll don’t know what motion sickness is?”

Keiko looked skeptical as she stated, “You’re sure it’s motion sickness? Most people moving on their own don’t get sick like that.”

“If you’re talking about people like Rock Lee or Might Gai, it’s because they’ve trained their bodies to handle it,” Cordi replied tiredly. She hung her head as she added, “In my world, we have these things called roller coasters. People ride them for excitement. They’re like really fast and dangerous trains.” She pushed down another wave of vomit by taking a deep breath and exhaling. “The more advanced ones move so fast they apply gravitational forces to the body, and can throw someone around or make them feel weightless.” She waved her hand as she tiredly explained, “If your body isn’t ready for that, you get sick.” She huffed down another wave before adding, “I’ve ridden a few, but not enough to be used to the sensation.” She looked at Gaara slightly pleadingly. “I swear, I’ll be fine.”

“That was an impressive lightning strike,” one of the councilmembers commented. Toska, if Cordi wasn’t mistaken.

“Thank you,” she grunted.

“It’s rather remarkable,” Keiko stated as she finished her preliminary assessment. “Usually when someone is struck by lightning, their body short circuits, as well as other issues. You don’t seem to be affected.”

“Because I only act as a conduit for lightning,” Cordi explained. She gestured for assistance in standing, and Keiko helped her up. Cordi stumbled back to where she’d been standing when her lightning struck, before bending down and picking up a jagged, sandy tube out of the sand. It was rather large, and surprising it was there. “My target was the sand,” Cordi explained. She waved the tube at them as she added. “It’s fulgurite. It’s what happens to sand when it’s struck by lightning. Lightning is five times hotter than the sun, so when it hits the ground, it can melt it, and in sand’s case, turns to glass.”

Ebiso made a weird smile. “Fascinating.”

“Is it true you can remotely explode things with a flick of your hand?” Mai asked, sounding very skeptical, but curious. Like she didn’t believe what was reported to her, but now that she’d seen some of Cordi’s abilities, she was intrigued.

Cordi shrugged, chucking the fulgurite in the air, then with a flick of her hand, the glass tube exploded with a resounding pop. Several of the Councilmembers gave her a small round of applause, sounding an awful lot like a golf course audience.

“So, Lord Kazekage?” one of the younger Councilmembers, Riku, if Cordi remembered correctly. “Is she shinobi material?”

Cordi’s gaze shifted back to Gaara who stood behind the Council and saw his own appraising gaze on her. She felt herself tensing in her shoulders as nerves seized her as Gaara made his decision. “No,” he answered clearly.

Her heart plummeted. “What?” she barely breathed.

“My Lord,” Riku questioned, clearly not understanding that decision. Several of the other Councilmembers looked at their village’s leader with apprehension while others with curiosity. Riku scoffed as he argued, “You can’t deny the powers she’s demonstrated here would be a great asset…”

“Yes,” Gaara stated, walking around towards Cordi. The fire user scowled at the Kazekage apprehensively. “They **_will be_** a great asset when she knows how to control them,” Gaara clarified. “But what I saw today was a serious lack of training and control, in spite of quick learning. In an actual fight, a ninja doesn’t have time to pause to learn a new skill. Especially a skill that can kill you if not handled right.”

Cordi set her jaw and crossed her arms, mirroring the Kazekage’s own stance. “I completed the task, so what exactly are you getting at?” she asked testily.

“What I’m saying is if that was an actual mission, not only could you have killed yourself, but you would have put your team in danger too,” Gaara stated plainly, as if explaining the situation to a child. He looked at her like a disappointed parent, too. She hated that.

“Fine, I won’t take off like that,” Cordi replied flippantly. “Any other tips, _sir?_ ”

Gaara was surprised she somehow made the word “sir” sound like “asshole.” He wasn’t sure he’d ever met anyone as obstinate as she was. “It wasn’t just your flying that was the issue,” Gaara remarked. His bored gaze leveled her as he stated. “You’re not ready to be a shinobi. You need better control over your powers.”

Anger built in her as her mind whirred. _What the hell was this all for?_

Gaara raised a hairless eyebrow at her as he looked at her feet. She followed his gaze and saw smoke rising from the ground where she stood, as Gaara commented, “The first step clearly needs to be controlling your emotions.”

She sneered at him as she said, “You’re really just pushing my buttons right now, aren’t you?” Gaara’s expression was completely unreadable, and she hated it. She inhaled deeply, and exhaled through her nose, and saw the smoke pluming out. “Fine,” she snipped bitterly. “Don’t want me to be a ninja, I won’t be a ninja.” She pivoted and began to walk off.

“I didn’t dismiss you yet,” Gaara said as she walked past him.

“I’m sorry,” she snarked back, “I didn’t realize as a _civilian,_ you had any say on my comings and goings.”

Gaara internally sighed. “You may not be a ninja, yet,” Gaara said, wondering what exactly he’d done to deserve such a fate forced on him, “But the Council has decided to make you my assistant for the time being. So, I am still your _boss_.”

She blinked at him annoyedly, before shifting her gaze back to the Councilmembers whispering amongst themselves at Gaara’s and Cordi’s conversation. She rolled her eyes as she scoffed, “Brilliant.” Gaara scowled at her glib tone, and she scowled right back.

Kankuro approached at that moment, even though neither Cordi or Gaara shifted their gazes from each other. “You could cut this tension with a kunai,” he remarked easily.

“Shut up, Kankuro,” both Gaara and Cordi said in unison.

Kankuro slowed, looking at them both awkwardly. He pursed his lips, then offered, “Just thought you’d like to finish this discussion away from the watchful eyes of the Council.”

The only sign either of them registered what Kankuro said was Cordi’s challenging look to Gaara that told him she didn’t care at all if the Council listened to their argument. Gaara’s nostrils flared only minimally before he said, “My decision’s made. She isn’t ready to be a shinobi. Everyone’s dismissed.”

There was small tittering of whispers among the members before they poofed away. Cordi rolled her eyes, and moved to leave the arena. Gaara stepped in front of her as he said, “We’re not done.”

“You said everyone was dismissed.”

“Everyone but you,” he clarified. “We have to be able to work together, and currently we won’t be able to do that.”

She made a frustrated grunt as she threw up her hands in way that said she was giving up on something, but he doubted it was this argument. He’d garnered enough knowledge of Cordi over the past few weeks to know she didn’t stop verbal confrontations until she thought it was completely done. “I just don’t know what it is with you,” she started her rant, “It’s like you’re two different people. One is Normal Gaara, who is nice, but shy, and who makes an effort with people and is understanding, and sweet. And then there’s Kazekage Gaara, Lord Asshole of the Sand who at the flip of a switch forgets how to function beyond being Lord Asshole.”

Gaara’s gaze narrowed on her, but didn’t dare say anything.

“Normal Gaara is cool, and I like being around him,” she added. “Kazekage Gaara is just a high and mighty pretentious dick I have no time or patience for.” She crossed her arms, and set her stance with her hip cocked out as she finished, “So, since I have to work with you on a regular basis as your assistant, exactly which Gaara am I assisting?”

He sucked in a breath as he glowered at her. “This doesn’t have to be as difficult as you’re making it,” Gaara grumbled.

“For you, you mean?” she huffed.

“For both of us,” he clarified. She looked at him skeptically, and he licked his lips before adding, “The Council has dictated we have to work together. It would be a lot easier if you weren’t constantly angry.”

“I’m not constantly angry!” Cordi snapped. “In fact, yesterday, I was pretty nice. I got you a cactus and taught you how to dance.”

“Yes, it’s curious. It makes me wonder what happened to make you change so swiftly.”

“Do not,” she warned, although, he wasn’t sure what she was warning him against. “If you mention the phrase ‘time of the month,’ I will show you just how scary it can be when it comes around. I have a good reason to be angry today, and you fucking know it.”

He looked at her with a mix of curiosity and skepticism. Of course he knew what she was referring to, having lived with his sister for the better part of a decade. He remembered his first run in with those mood swings vividly. But he didn’t realize it was such a trigger for any woman. He scoffed as he said, “Somehow, I doubt it’s scarier than I can be.”

She rolled her eyes at him as she said, “You know, if it wasn’t for already knowing the worst of what you’ve done, and the fact I can turn off your sand powers if I need to, as I demonstrated in your little test, that threat might have been scary.” Gaara made a face at that that told her he doubted that statement. She exhaled sharply before she rattled off, “Look, I don’t handle rejection well. Alright?” That gave him pause, and he let her continue. “And I woke up early for this assessment, and I was nervous, so I could barely eat anything to begin with. And now, it just feels like it was a huge waste of time and effort, which is frustrating and annoying. And rather than letting me walk it off and ignore your existence for a week or two, you’re holding me here and looking at me with this blank look that just makes me want to punch you.” She finished with her dark eyes connecting with his so he could fully see the anger behind them.

He raised a hairless eyebrow at her, then stepped up to her, his chest practically bumping into hers as he offered, “Then punch me.”

Now she looked at him like he was crazy. “I’m not going to punch you.”

“You said you wanted to.”

“Yeah, but I’m not an idiot.”

“Why would that make you an idiot?”

“Because punching you would be a dumb idea on so many levels. Plus I don’t actually want to hurt you.” That was just confusing to the redhead. Another thing that was confusing was this sensation he got when he looked her in the eyes, standing so close to her, to lean in further. He resisted the sensation, though. He watched her shake her head and shift her stance. “I was being honest yesterday when I said I wanted to be your friend. But you, for some reason, are making it impossible.”

“Are you saying I should have made you a shinobi, even though you clearly aren’t ready?” he asked, wondering exactly what the acceptable mode of preserving a new friendship in this situation was.

“No,” Cordi said. “You just didn’t have to be a dick about it!”

He pursed his lips as he said, “You know, you are very vulgar.”

She glowered at him as she replied, “Well, tell _the Kazekage_ I’ll endeavor to be more professional in his presence. But for right now, he can fuck right off.”

“Be at my office at one to start training,” Gaara barked before turning to see his siblings who had been watching the argument, clearly very entertained. Kankuro was trying his best not to laugh, only to get slapped on his shoulder by Temari. His expression soured as he shunshined off to get his workday started.

“Gaara’s going to kill her in a week,” Kankuro chuckled

*~*~*

Rox stood next to her friends, panting. The first half of their training session was running, long distance. Shikamaru stated it was around a ten-kilometer course, and Rox had to duck back a couple times to use her inhaler. He said it was to work on their endurance. But even Lynne groaning by the end of it. Shikamaru took the lead while Hinata ran behind them to make sure they stayed on course. At the end, neither of them were breaking a sweat or acting the least bit winded, as if this run was nothing more than a leisurely stroll. Shikamaru stated by the end of their training, they should be able to run forty kilometers straight.

Lynne shook her head as she muttered, “That’s almost a full marathon.” Back in school, the cross-country team only had clearance to run up to a 10k. Lynne ran it occasionally, since anyone who qualified on either the guys or girls’ team could qualify, but it was mostly run by the guys’ team.

“Still, you will be able to run it with ease by the time I’m done with you,” Shikamaru stated. “And in three and a half hours. That’s a respectable rate for a low-chakra ninja.” Lynne made a face that said she begged to differ on that front, but the ninjas pushed on.

After their run, which took an hour and five minutes, he ran them through some stretches, then sprint work across the field, and then shuriken and kunai throwing drills. Finally, for the last hour of their training, he had them working on their special abilities. Lynne worked on holding multiple objects with her telekinesis of varying sizes. Fred worked with Hinata on combat, and Ronnie and Rox worked with Shikamaru on evasion tactics. At four, Shikamaru called an end to their physical training, saying, “This is the normal training schedule from here on in the afternoons of your academy class days. For the last section, we will rotate who is working with who on what which day. On Saturdays, we will meet in the morning at eight for the daily run, then on teamwork after that. Understood?”

He was met with a small chorus of halfhearted, “Yep” ringing through the group.

“Good. I’ll see you all tomorrow.” Hinata made her notes for the girls as they made their way across the green, before showing them to Shikamaru. Hinata gave a small bow, and poofed away as the girls grabbed their bags, Fred slinging hers over her shoulder, and a few of them guzzling what was left of their water when Shikamaru called, “Roxanne, stay behind, please.”

Ronnie and Fred made the standard, “Ooooh,” people made when called down to the principal’s office or asked to stay after class. Rox rolled her eyes, but walked over to the jonin as the others left the training grounds. “You wanted to see me?”

“Yes,” Shikamaru stated, his mouth pressed into a worried line. “According to Hinata’s notes, your throwing skills are way behind everyone else’s.”

Rox frowned, taken aback by the statement. “What?” She paused thinking about it. Fred and Lynne were understandable if they were sneaking their powers in, which they weren’t supposed to do. But … “Even Ronnie.”

Shikamaru nodded, scratching his head. “Yes. Especially Ronnie. She and Fred did surprisingly well, hitting the most bullseyes of the group. Ronnie made about seventy-seven percent accuracy. Fred seventy-five. Both of which are respectable at your level. Lynne only a few behind them, coming in at sixty-eight percent, which is still decent, but we’ll work on it.”

Rox frowned. She had been trying really hard, but she was never good at throwing things. It’s why she hated baseball and dodgeball. “How far behind was I?”

Shikamaru pursed his lips, looking at the horizon. “Thirty-two. Almost about half of Lynne’s score.”

“Damn,” she hissed. She knew it was bad, but she didn’t think that bad. “Well, you said not to use our powers,” she tried.

Shikamaru shook his head. “I had Hinata watching with her Byakugan for that reason especially. None of you tripped up on that direction.” Rox pursed her lips as he added, “Throwing knives is an essential ninja skill. If you’re going to get you ready to become genin by the exam, you need to be throwing better.”

Rox did her best not to pout, but she always had trouble not letting her emotions get in the way when someone was disappointed in her. “So what do I do?”

“Well,” Shikamaru stated, “Hinata and I agree, until your accuracy picks up more regularly, after the main training, you’ll stay to work on your throwing until you hit a bullseye. The sooner you hit it, the sooner you get to go back to your friends. Sound fair?”

If it had been anyone else in their group, they would have complained, but Rox just swallowed her hurt feelings, and marched back over to the targets, and began to throw. Shikamaru stayed and watched her while she threw her kunai, then shuriken. Once she was out, she’d go retrieve them all, and start over again. After the third time, she stopped counting how many times she had to go replenish her bag. At about twenty minutes, she finally complained, “This is killing my arm.”

“Well, when you’re in battle, your arm will thank me,” Shikamaru stated tiredly. He stood next to her at the throwing line, watching her every move.

She rolled her eyes, and threw again. It hit on a ring just outside the bullseye.

“Close,” Shikamaru offered.

She smiled hopefully as she asked, “Close enough to be considered a bullseye?”

Shikamaru laughed. “No.”

She huffed, and threw another knife. This one landed to the right of the post, hitting the ground with a clang. “Agh! This is hopeless!” she howled. She readied another, huffing, “Something’s gotta’ give.”

Shikamaru pursed his lips as she threw it and it went to the bottom of the target. She glared at it as if it’d betrayed her. “I think I see the problem,” Shikamaru offered. Her head whipped to his as he pointed at her, “Your stance is a little off. Your toes aren’t pointed right, and you’re releasing at the wrong part of the throw.” He walked over to her, stepping up just behind her as he began to direct her. He placed his hands on her hips as he nudged her feet to the correct stance, saying, “Point your feet forward to towards your target. This allows your body to focus on it.”

She did her best to ignore his hands on her hips as he stood so close to her, his body pressing against her backside as he lifted is arm toward her hand. “Second, you’re holding the star wrong. Hold one point between your thumb and this knuckle,” he placed the star in her hand the way he wanted it held, and she did as directed. “Now, horizontal takes a little time to perfect, so we’ll stick with vertical.” He grabbed her wrist, directing her hand to be held by her ear, and her forearm horizontal before moving it in a chopping motions, adding, “Throw like this, and release the star here.” He put his hands on her hips as he added, “And it’s important not to move your lower body when throwing. So, keeps your hips still, and your feet in place.”

She threw as he held her hips in place, keenly aware of his hands on her body. Her heart seized as she heard the THUNK in the wood.

“See?” he asked, sounding a little smug.

She gasped as she looked at her star hanging in the bullseye. “I did it? … I DID IT!” She jumped as she squealed, turning around in Shikamaru’s arms and grabbing his shoulders as she jumped excitedly.

He smiled at her girly excitement, letting out a small chuckle. She beamed back at him happily as she slowed her jumping.

As soon as she slowed, she felt it in full force. How close they were to each other. Her chest so near his that she could practically feel their hearts beating together. His hands were still on her hips. And his lips curled pleasantly at her, pulling her to him, inviting her in. On instinct, she pressed her lips to his. His tongue licked at her lips and she let him in, licking him back as her eyes fluttered closed. She felt his fingertips sink in her hips, gripping her with a possessive fervor.

Just as Rox began to feel the world fall away, Shikamaru pulled back, taking a deep breath as he stepped back, his gaze distant and betrayed, as if he hadn’t meant to kiss her back. Reality came rushing back to Rox as she remembered they were broken up. He was her teacher now. She blinked a few times, and gulped awkwardly as her mind raced. Did Shikamaru change his mind? Or was it a moment of weakness? Did it matter?

Whatever questions her mind whirled in its hurricane of thoughts, the howl for her to leave roared loudest. She pursed her lips, as she turned to leave, only for her wrist to be grabbed, spinning her back into Shikamaru’s arms as his mouth came down on hers again. This time more needy and starved than ever before. His arms encircled her, pressing her body completely against his as his tongue delved in her mouth, stirring something inside her that made her heart pound and butterflies flutter to life in her stomach. His hands roved around her back, his left hand snaking up to her neck to hold her head at the best angle for him as his other hand slid down to her caress her butt through her yoga pants. His hand stretched and he squeezed and kneaded one ass cheek through her clothes, causing Rox to gasp against his lips and her knees to go weak. He just let out a contented growl as he seized her lips, kneading her butt more. Pleasure pooled in her at the sensations, and the world fell away again fully.

It was when his other hand fell to her ass, and began kneading her other cheek, her legs gave out under her, and they tumbled together in the grass in a heap, Shikamaru laying over her splayed form. Their fall broke their kiss for a second, and as Shikamaru laughed over her, his hips shifted against hers, something hard pressing against her. She bit her lip at the sensation, her gaze clouding with pleasure. His mouth seized hers again as his hips shifted a little more purposeful. His hands moved to her hips before she felt fingers slipping between clothes and skin. One hand moved through her shirt up to her sports bra while his other hand played with her waistband, slipping under as soon as it gave way to feel her bare ass.

Finally, she got her hands to listen to her, as her fingers went to his Leaf ninja vest, and unzipped it, exposing his black turtleneck underneath. She grumbled annoyedly at how covered he was compared to her. He chuckled against her lips as his hands continued their assault. His left hand grasped one of her breasts in its entirety. She gasped and shifted her hips against his almost involuntarily.

It was odd how her instincts were kicking in, wrapping her legs around his hips, and her hands pulled his turtleneck out of his pants so her hand could travel up his back. She dragged her nails back down, not hard enough to cut, but just enough to earn a heady groan from him.

He paid her back by pushing her sports bra out of place, exposing her breast with her tank top’s low neckline. He thumbed her nipple first, her breath hitching as he played with the sensitive bud. Then his mouth left hers, and she let out a smile whine, until his lips replaced his hand on her breast, and she gasped. One of her hands dove into his hair, her fingers digging under his ponytail holder as his tongue made lazy circles around the rosy bud. All the while, his hips ground into hers, his groin against hers, if not for her incredibly thin yoga pants and his own ninja issue gear. Both were so thin, she could feel him unmistakably hard rubbing against her.

Suddenly, something in her lower body snapped, starting a spasm in her groin that shot pleasure through her being, seizing her brain and claiming her body as she let out a high-pitched gasping moan. It rippled through her, curling her toes and tightening her grip on Shikamaru’s hair. And just as quickly as the feeling arrived, it was gone, leaving Rox panting. She opened her eyes and saw the clouds above them had been twisted by the wind in strange ripples.

She felt a breeze across her exposed nipple, and her gaze drifted to Shikamaru, who was just watching her curiously. “Did you already have an orgasm?”

She blinked rapidly as she tried to catch her breath, letting go of his hair as she asked, “I think … maybe. Is that what that was?”

He frowned, his hands pulling out of her clothes. “You’ve never had one before?”

She suddenly felt self-conscious as she dropped her hands to herself, tucking her breast back into her shirt as she confessed, “No. I’ve never … I’ve never …” She didn’t know how to finish. Never had an orgasm. Never had sex. Never been touched. Never been kissed like that. Suddenly she blurted, “I’m a complete virgin.”

As soon as she said it, she wished she could turn back time and stop herself.

Shikamaru’s eyes shifted, and she could see a ghost of internal horror he was trying to hide sitting in the back of his light brown eyes. “Shit. I’m sorry,” Shikamaru mumbled, quickly pulling himself off her. He offered his hand to help her stand up, and she took it. “I shouldn’t have gone that far,” he offered, embarrassed.

“Stop,” Rox said, caressing his cheek. The look he gave her was self-flagellating, and she pulled him to kiss her again. There was no passion or need, just comforting, reassuring love. “It was lovely.”

He looked skeptical. “I was ravishing you in a field.”

“And it was lovely,” Rox reiterated, giving him another small peck on the lips.

Shikamaru opened his mouth to say something, but they were cut off by Rox’s cellphone going off. Rox walked over to her bag and reached down to answer the call. She saw the caller ID said it was Lynne. “What’s up?”

“Don’t you what’s up me?” Lynne huffed back over the line. “Are you still with Shikamaru? It’s been over an hour.”

“Yea-“ Rox cut herself off as she looked behind her, and noticed Shikamaru had run off. Her heart dropped a little, confused why he would run. “Uhm – no. Actually, he just left.”

“What were you two doing?”

“Apparently my shuriken skills leave a lot to be desired,” Rox joked as she made her way out of the field, feeling this afternoon could stick between just her and Shikamaru. If it went anywhere, that is. She silently prayed it did.

*~*~*

As Gaara got into his office, he saw a friendly face waiting for him. A smile crept to his face as he greeted her, “Shijima.” He closed the door behind him, preferring this meeting be private.

“Lord Kazekage,” she replied, looking at her watch. “Sorry, I thought your message said nine thirty.”

“It did,” he said, a slight awkward lilt on his lips, “Sorry. My first meeting went long.”

Shijima and Gaara’s story was a bit odd, even for their backgrounds. She was the elder sister to Hakuto, the woman Gaara had been betrothed to back in March. Shijima and Shikamaru were the only two people other than Gaara who knew what actually happened with Hakuto and her lover. She’d gone with him to track Hakuto down after the coup, only for Gaara to realize about halfway through their journey, Shijima had been the one to facilitate Hakuto’s escape to her lover. It was that loyalty and willingness to act that Gaara admired about her, and why he invited her back to Suna, to join him.

“How’s my sister?” she asked once he’d sat down.

“She’s well, as is her husband,” Gaara stated, fixing his pens just so on his desk. He gave a small smile as he stated, “She wanted me to tell you they are expecting.”

Shijima’s eyes went wide. “Already?”

Gaara nodded. “She said it’s early, but she wanted you to know.” He left out the part where Hakuto added that she didn’t know the next time Gaara would be in Konoha to take a message back to her sister. That was an odd twist of fate from March. He’d promised Shijima that when he’d traveled to Konoha, he’d check on her sister for her. While everyone in the Land of Wind thought Gaara had killed Hakuto and her lover in a jealous rage, the truth was Gaara had Shikamaru meet them at the border of the Land of Fire, and fake documents to make them legal citizens of Konoha. But being legally dead meant communication to left loved ones was difficult. But Gaara did feel a little guilty about the predicament in a way, so it was the least he could do, given he traveled there now almost twice a year.

Shijima beamed at him. “Thank you.”

“It was nothing,” Gaara replied. “I wanted to see what type of accommodations Shikamaru was able to pull together for them, anyway. It’s a nice house. Not far from the Nara complex, if I’m not mistaken. They’ll be comfortable there.”

“It really is sweet of you to do that,” Shijima stated, unable to hide her bittersweet smile. He knew too well she missed her sister dearly.

But her comment gave him pause as he wondered, _I wonder if Cordelia would class this as Normal Gaara or Lord Asshole of the Sand, if she knew._ He shook his head, realizing thinking about that argument would just annoy him. It was a dumb argument, and it bothered him that he couldn’t let Cordelia’s comments just go. They always seemed to dig under his skin and fester like parasites.

“Is something wrong?” Shijima asked. She’d always been very observant of Gaara’s expressions, even when they were chasing after Hakuto, and he knew her all of a few hours.

He shook his head mildly as he explained, “The Council has assigned me an assistant, and she’s a piece of work.”

Shijima raised her eyebrow with great interest. “Tell me more.”

He pursed his lips, wondering what he could say about the otherworldly girl that seemed to have been sent just to pester him. “She’s not a Suna native, and beyond that, I can’t really discuss,” he started, looking up. “But because she isn’t from Suna, she constantly questions or commentates how things are done.”

“Might be a good thing,” Shijima offered, clearly keeping an open mind.

“Maybe, if it wasn’t so annoying,” he sighed. “Also, if she was the least bit respectful.” This made Shijima’s eyes widen with great curiosity. He scoffed, “She has now called me an asshole to my face I think six times, not to mention other colorful names. Just at the meeting this morning, she called me ‘Lord Asshole of the Sand,’ which I guess has a ring to it.”

Shijima laughed at how dry he presented it. “How long have you known her?”

“Three weeks,” he answered. “Something happened in Konoha,” when Shijima looked nervous about that note, he clarified, “Nothing serious, just this girl’s been around us ever since. Again, I can’t go into the details.”

“By around, you mean …?”

“She’s essentially living with us,” Gaara answered. “Again, starting to get into confidential territory.”

Shijima frowned, “How confidential?”

“Kage and Council clearance only. It’s really a need to know situation.”

“I’ll try not to pry,” Shijima replied with a trusting nod.

“Thanks,” Gaara sighed.

“What do your siblings think of her?” she asked, settling further into her chair across from him.

He gave a small shrug. “They like her, I think. Kankuro has found a good détente with her. Temari and she were friends starting out, but then there was some drama with the girl’s sister, and Temari’s been distant with her since. I don’t think that will last.”

“There’s more than one?” Shijima asked, but a swift look from Gaara told her he couldn’t answer. “Right,” she breathed. “What else is there about her that has you bothered?”

Gaara set his jaw as he thought. He couldn’t mention the dreams that made him uncomfortable. It was really just her vulgarity and disrespect. “I don’t know,” he sighed. “She said she’s trying to be my friend, but that it’s like I have two personalities. One is friendly and good, while the other is distant and a bit of a jerk to put it nicely.”

Shijima smiled. “Lord Asshole of the Sand, I presume,” she said with a tinkling laugh.

Gaara let out a tired sigh. “Yes.” He paused as he asked, “You don’t think I have two personalities, do you?”

“Honestly?” Shijima asked.

Gaara nodded.

She made an odd face as she answered, “I think it’s more two personas. They’re both you, but you do put on this tough Kazekage persona when you’re uncertain or guarded. It’s helpful when leading a country, but it can be impersonal when you’re with people you’re trying to get to know.” She gave him an odd smile as she said, “When we first met, I only saw the tough Kazekage persona you tried to project, even through the marriage meeting. The only time I saw a hint of the other side of you was when you saved me, and when you were passed out.”

 _And I’d cried in my sleep_ , he filled in for her, trying his best to forget it.

“From what you’ve told me, I like her,” Shijima offered. “She sounds ballsy. You need someone like that.”

He frowned at the jonin. “You _would_ like her.” He shook his head in disagreement. “But I don’t think I need someone like that. She’s completely unpredictable.”

Shijima scoffed. “Yeah, you do. Especially if she’s unpredictable.” She bit her lip as she said, “Remember what you told me in that cavern. You wanted to do something illogical. Live like the wind that crosses the desert. Not restricted and freely loving everyone?”

He nodded, although he was fairly certain those weren’t his exact words.

“Well,” Shijima said, “Wind in itself is unpredictable. The same wind that grants respite from the heat is the wind that brings the sandstorm.”

He shook his head. “Cordelia Turner is nothing like the wind. She’s fire and lightning, and all the destruction that entails.” Shijima shot him a knowing smile, but he decided to let it go. He licked his lips as he reached for a scroll he’d left on his desk the previous night. “Now, onto why I’ve asked you here.”

Shijima sat up in attention, now that they were moving onto missions.

“The Daimyou has requested that I issue four jonin to join his security team. It’s a semi-permanent position, and I need a man inside the Daimyo’s palace I can trust.” He pursed his lips as he handed the scroll to Shijima and said, “I’m hoping you’d be that man.”

She grabbed the scroll, holding it as if it were a holy artefact. “Thank you, m’lord.” She pursed her lips as she added, “But surely there’s someone more qualified.”

“None that I can move so easily,” Gaara answered, “or trust as much.”

She closed her hand around it, “Then I accept.”

Gaara smiled evenly. “Good.” He opened a file, and added, “Three other jonin are needed, and since you are the team lead, I’d like you to pick your team members. Here is a file of jonin I think would be applicable.” She took the file, and opened it, and they began to discuss who would be protecting the daimyo. It took them a few hours to hammer out the details. But once it was done, he sent Shijima to assemble her team for their mission debrief.

As she opened the door stood Cordi with her hand up as if to knock on the door. She’d changed from the tight-fitting pants and crop top she’d worn that morning, and instead wore a black flouncy skirt that went to her mid-thigh, with a white t-shirt tucked in at the waistband, and a silver pendant necklace that dropped past her rather large chest and swung against her breasts with every step. She still wore those boots she’d been wearing this morning, and again he made the note that they didn’t look tactical. This time though, they were topped with gray socks that went halfway up her calf, and bunched at the top of the shoe.

Gaara could see this outfit was definitely designed to be more appealing to the eye. It would be ludicrous to wear into battle. She also looked as if she showered and she was wearing makeup he was almost certain. It wasn’t obvious make-up, but it was enough to look presentable. She also held a notebook at her side with a pencil tucking in the spine

“Sorry, I …” Cordi started a little sheepishly as she noticed her hand was right at Shijima’s head, and she began to lower it.

“You’re very early, Cordelia,” Gaara stated, looking at the clock on his wall. It read eleven forty. He looked back at Cordi, and noted Shijima looking the fire user over with great interest.

“Yes, well, getting the boss’s lunch is Executive Assistant 101 where I’m from,” she replied from the doorway, leaning on the frame. “So I figured I’d start there, and then we’d get the ball rolling.”

He frowned as he asked, “You’ve been an assistant before?”

“Well, several months last year, I temped as the front desk assistant for my Dad’s office when their prior assistant was diagnosed with cancer, and had to start treatments two states away,” Cordi stated with a small shrug. “So, yes, some experience.” Her gaze flicked to the woman beside her and she flashed her a friendly smile and stuck out her hand, “Hi. Cordelia Turner.”

“Sh-Shijima Hoki,” the jonin replied, grabbing her hand and shooting an equally friendly smile back.

Cordi smirked as she asked, “Hoki?” As she dropped the ninja’s hand, she couldn’t help but comment, “That’s an interesting name.”

“Oh, th-thanks,” Shijima replied, a small blush crossing her cheeks as she tucked her hair behind her ear.

Cordi shrugged the comment off with ease as she turned back to Gaara. “So, what do you want to eat?”

Gaara shook his head. “I hadn’t even given it a thought.”

Cordi sighed disappointedly, then grumbled, “I knew you were going to say that.” She scoffed to Shijima, “I mean, what is it with guys that they never decide what to eat, and then joke that we’re the indecisive ones when it comes to meal planning?”

“Uh, I don’t know. I don’t have much experience,” the jonin replied a little apprehensively.

Cordi frowned. “Really? But you look like a runway model.”

Shijima just gave a small nervous shake of her head, blushing more. Gaara gave a small wince, realizing Cordi hadn’t picked up on the fact that Shijima preferred women to men. Gaara didn’t understand it either, but he’d noticed it shortly after she joined him in Suna and they went out to eat the first time. Their waitress had been objectively pretty, and Shijima immediately became a stuttering mess. Otherwise, Gaara would have asked her to be his girlfriend rather than Matsuri. Shijima was a little more understanding.

“Huh,” Cordi grunted as she maneuvered her notebook up as she opened it, then pulled out several sheets of paper from between the sheets and cover. She took them over to Gaara and put them on his desk before leaning her butt against it. “Pick a menu,” she directed, tapping her finger on them.

Gaara scowled at her before looking over the different sheets of papers. He frowned when he realized he’d never even heard of half of these places. He didn’t order out all that often. Temari usually picked him something up if he couldn’t get out of his office, or he just skipped lunch. “Where did you get these?” he asked, wondering if they were still in date.

“Downstairs lobby,” Cordi answered. She snapped her fingers as if she just remembered something and added, “The lady at the lobby desk did mention that the empanada cart is outside. Apparently, he’s very popular.”

That caught his interest. Temari had gotten him the empanada man’s empanadas when he came around. They were delicious. “Go to the empanada cart, and get me a carne seca empanada.”

Cordi gave a nod, then handed out her hand, and said, “Cash?”

He reached in his pocket and handed her a fifty.

She pocketed it, then gave him a salute as she popped off the desk and strode out, addressing Shijima as she walked out, “It was nice to meet you, Shijima.”

“Yes, it was …” Shijima trailed off watching Cordi walk off towards the elevators.

Gaara narrowed his eyes at Shijima wondering why exactly she was watching the fire user. Cordi may be pretty, but as soon as she opened that bossy, vulgar mouth of her the spell was broken. “Shijima?”

The dark-haired beauty blinked a few times then turned to the Kazekage. “Sorry, m’lord,” she breathed. “When you talked about her earlier, I wasn’t expecting her to be so …” She shot a glance at Gaara, and he could still see she was very flushed. She didn’t have to finish the statement. Gaara could tell she was besotted. He didn’t understand it, or at least he tried his hardest not to. “You are a very lucky man, Gaara,” she stated before walking out, saying, “I’ll bring the other jonin back for their debriefing.”

Gaara closed his eyes, and sighed. He had work to worry about. He moved onto the stack of reports. Half an hour passed before Cordi returned with the empenadas. She placed a lidded drink in front of him, placing hers on the desk momentarily before moving his report out from in front of him and digging into the bag of food she brought up and handing him his empanada. He didn’t like her moving his work, but when she placed the meat pie in front of him, he decided to let that go. Then she reached in her pocket for the change, placing it on his desk in front of him. He put it away before digging into his empanada. She grabbed her drink, then looked around awkwardly as she said, “I’ll eat this at my desk, if you show me where.”

He’d just taken a bite, realizing how hungry he really was as soon as the scent of the food hit his nose. He swallowed through pursed lips before answering, “The Council had to order your desk. So, until it’s delivered and built, you’ll be working in here.” He gestured to the chair Shijima had used earlier.

Cordi frowned, setting her drink on the desk opposite him before sitting down. She pulled out these little balled cheese rolls that looked as if they were coated in butter, placing them next to her drink, and then pulled out her empanada, placing it in her lap.

Gaara frowned at the balls, and asked, “Are those *cheese buns?” He loved cheese buns.

Cordi nodded, grabbing one, “Someone was raving about them downstairs, so I decided to get some.” She took a bite, and she made a pleasantly surprised face, and when she caught Gaara staring at them, she gestured to Gaara to grab one. “Take one. I got them to share,” she stated.

He blinked at her, internally frustrated. Three hours, she wanted bite his head off. Now she was offering him cheese rolls. He decided the easiest course of action was to just accept the cheese buns. He grabbed one, and popped it in his mouth. It was rather delicious. He ate another, then another and another in rapid succession. He was rather hungry. And these buns hit his tongue just right. The garlic with the cheese and butter was perfect. And they were the just the right level of fluffy.

Cordi was only on her second roll as she watched him with a raised eyebrow. He mildly blushed, then took a sip of his iced tea to wash it down as she shot him a pursed smile. “I take it you like them.”

He gave a small nod as he swallowed. “They’re pretty good,” he chirped.

She smiled victoriously as she took a sip of her drink, and closed her eyes blissfully. She smiled as she swallowed, and said, “I will say, something I love about Suna is that ya’ll make your iced tea just like home.” She took another sip as she smiled.

It was times like this that made him think having her around wouldn’t be so bad.

The phone rang while they ate. Gaara hated the phone. It was a newer addition to his office, brought in only a few months ago. He scowled at the first ring as he dropped his empanada on its wrapper, until Cordi held up a finger and grabbed the receiver, answering in an almost unrecognizable voice, “Hello. You’ve reached the Kazekage’s office. Unfortunately, he’s unable to answer the phone right now. May I please take a message?” She pulled her notebook over to her, flipping it open and pulling out her pencil. Apparently, the man on the line said something that made her laugh. “Yes, I’m his new assistant.” She flipped her pencil between her fingers with an oddly practiced level of skill, until the man said something worth noting, which she jotted down as she said friendly, “I understand. And does he have a number to contact you with?” She jotted something else down, then dropped her pencil on her notebook. “Alright. I’ll pass that along. You have a great day. … Thanks. Bye.”

And just like that, she hung up the phone, and went right back to eating her food. He watched her with slight confusion on what just happened. She gestured to her note as she stated, “That was your doctor’s office, asking to schedule your annual check-up.”

He just blinked at her as she continued eating. He felt as if he was being handled like a child. Handed food. Talked for. He wasn’t sure if he liked that, but he did appreciate how formal she sounded on the phone.

“Are you done eating?” she asked.

“Is that your job now?” he asked. When she looked at him confused, he clarified, “Speaking for me. Getting my food. Is that what an assistant does?”

“More like screen your phone calls so you don’t have to deal with telemarketers or spam calls. But yeah, get your food, take notes in meetings, handle your schedule, take messages, and you know take care of the minutia for yourself that gets in the way of handling the big picture issues. You know. _Assist._ ” She said it so sarcastically. She made a weird expression as she added, “Unless assistants here do something different?”

He shrugged. “I’ve never had an assistant, so I’m not sure.”

She nodded, “Well, then that’s what I’ll do. Handle all the small things for you, so you can handle the big things. Does that work?”

“Yes.” He paused as he thought about their argument this morning. “I also think we need some ground rules.” She pursed her lips as he took a deep breath. He hated broaching subjects like this, but if they were going to work together this closely, they had to be on the same page. “You can’t argue with me in public, especially in front of the Council. When it’s just us in this office or in the penthouse, if you have a disagreement about something, just tell me. But otherwise, you cannot raise your voice to me like that.”

Cordi pursed her lips into a thin line, clearly holding back some anger before replying, “Alright, but by the same token, do not treat me or talk to me like a child, or like you’re above me. You’re my boss, but where I come from, all men are created equal.” She realized the phrasing would be confusing to him when he tilted his head slightly. “All men and women are equal. I work well in a team setting, but I don’t take orders. And you won’t be able to change that ideal in me. If you are making a bonehead decision, I will tell you it’s a bonehead decision.”

He made a small accepting nod at that. “As long as it’s just us.”

She gave an acquiescing nod to that, then winced as she added, “I’m also not in the habit of calling anyone Lord, except God. So, don’t assume I’ll pick that up easily.” Gaara frowned at his curiously. She held up a hand as she said, “I’ll try to work on it. But my country eschewed the nobility and royalty two hundred and fifty years ago. So we don’t have Lords, and aren’t generally in the practice of differentiating people by class rank.”

He nodded understandingly, murmuring, “All men and women are created equal?”

She smirked as she corrected, “Well, the full quote is, ‘ _We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness._ ’”

He raised an eyebrow curiously. “The quote?”

“From my country’s Declaration of Independence, penned July 4th, 1776,” Cordi filled in. “It’s the document we sent to the king that previously owned us.”

“And eschewed the royalty and nobility,” Gaara filled in. It was difficult for him to imagine a country without a Daimyo running the social laws and trade treatise half of the country. Running the military and education it pertained to was difficult enough. But here was a woman who came from a country where the man in charge had both the responsibilities of the Daimyo and Kage, but also wasn’t considered a Lord among his people or above reproach. And that country had been running for two hundred and fifty years. The position of Kage only started eighty years go with the first Hokage.

Gaara gave another understanding nod as he said, “I will try to keep your background in mind.”

Cordi went back to her food, finishing it quickly. She then cleared the lunch mess from his desk, and started working with him catch up on his reports. After an hour, Cordi noticed that there was no specific order Gaara was running through the reports. Just whatever was on top was done first. She quickly declared this madness, stating new reports would automatically overshadow older reports that still need to be attended to, but would only be buried. She then took out all the reports, which the stack was hefty. She did a primary scan of the stack, pulling out all the one to two-page reports, of which there were somewhere between fifteen and thirty. She placed those in front of Gaara, reversing the order so he was looking at the older reports first. She took the other reports, and began setting up a system for him to prioritize reports to maximize his daily turnout.

There was the Cordi he needed to see to forget the dream Cordelia. This Cordi was annoying, bossy, and grating. As well as a bit obsessive. When Gaara tried to tell her his system was fine, she was already ignoring him and taking his reports from him to “fix” his system. She wouldn’t take no for an answer. In the end, he just had to accept the tsunami on his office that was Cordelia Turner. She wasn’t something he could fight. She just was something he had to live with now. Even though, he begrudgingly had to admit her system was already working to make him faster. Only to himself. He’d never give her the satisfaction.

When Shijima returned with her team of jonin for the mission debrief, he caught Shijima and the two male jonins drooling over Cordi as she read reports for Gaara, sorting them into newly specified groupings Cordi designed for her new system. This burned something in his chest. An odd sense of anger and annoyance. He noted that he might need to discuss dress code with her. If his men couldn’t keep their eyes off her, it would be a problem.

*~*~*

Friday was weird. Lynne couldn’t shake that feeling. It started with Rox being weird about Shikamaru making her stay behind for shuriken control after Thursday’s training session. Rox was so late getting back to the dorms, she almost missed going to dinner with the rest of the squad.

Well, minus Ronnie. Ronnie and Kiba were practically conjoined at the hip. Sometimes not even figuratively. This meant wherever Ronnie ate, so was Kiba.

What was most annoying, at least for Lynne, was whenever she looked at Kiba, she saw all the dirty things he wanted to do to Ronnie. She’d say something if it wasn’t the fact that Ronnie and Kiba were in the honeymoon phase of their relationship, and as with all of Ronnie’s relationships, this was par for the course. Ronnie’s boyfriends would always dote on her, and fall over themselves to keep that sexual access. Lynne hadn’t needed to be a mind-reader to know that about Ronnie’s previous boyfriends. They were all annoyingly obvious about it. Kiba was no different.

The problem was Lynne couldn’t eat with those intrusive thoughts Kiba projected popping in her head ever five seconds. This meant if they were going to eat, either Lynne went or Kiba. Fred had even commented on it on the way to dinner last night, asking why Lynne was being even more of a hardass on Kiba than on Ronnie’s previous boyfriends. All Lynne said was, “Trust me. You’re better off not knowing.” The way she said it made it clear that Kiba thought of little else than nailing the younger Buchanan.

But back to the weirdness that was Friday, July 10th, 2009. It started with Fred leaving Rox’s room that morning. Apparently since Ronnie and Kiba began hooking up, Fred had been sleeping in Rox’s room, but that was the first time Lynne had noticed it. And then Ronnie left her room alone. This was very odd, given the past couple days of her and Kiba’s shenanigans. But Ronnie assured them that Kiba and Akamaru left early that morning for a mission, and that he’d be back that afternoon.

Then, Iruka had been abnormally upbeat. Again, Lynne tried her best to not pry, but she could read that he had a date he was nervous about that evening. It explained his frazzled approach to today’s lesson. Rox was also acting a little frazzled, and again Lynne did her best not to pry, but she did get flashes that something had gone on between Rox and Shikamaru, at least a bit more intimate than just learning how to throw shurikens.

It was a problem, because she desperately wanted to ask what happened, but she didn’t want her friends pushing her away because her ability sometimes opened up thoughts she shouldn’t know.

Like Naruto.

Two days ago, she and Fred ran into Naruto and Lynne abandoned Fred to get some answers on the elusive Uchiha who was mysteriously still alive. In the process, she learned that Shikamaru’s summation of events was only mildly accurate. Sasuke had originally joined the war effort with the goal of killing Naruto and the five kages to essentially become a dictator. In the end, specifically the Valley of the End, Naruto and Sasuke had a battle while the ten tails essentially held everyone in limbo for a day, resulting in them each losing an arm. Oh, and Sasuke now had a rinnegan.

And she’d gotten all of that from just touching Naruto’s shoulder. It was like an odd wave of information, like her brain just downloaded it directly from Naruto’s memories just by touching him. She’d tried to replicate it with other things, but she didn’t have any luck.

At the end of class, Iruka thanked Fred for her advice, which Fred brushed off, leading their group to their training session. On the way back to their dorms to change, Rox called Cordi to check in, using the video chat feature on their phones. Apparently, Suna was three hours behind Konoha, so she was just starting her workday. It was surprising to hear the Suna Council had made her Gaara’s assistant. She was getting them their morning teas, so she was free to tell them he was a bit of a stick in the mud when it came to work. Yesterday evening, because apparently a Kage’s work day went to the wee hours of the morning, and therefore so was his assistant’s, Gaara had a comment on everything she did. From lip syncing music on her ipod to how she tapped her pencil against her knuckles to how she dressed. Apparently, the dress conversation devolved into an argument between them that Cordi finished with, “So, I told him I wouldn’t be caught dead in those snuggie-moomoo bullshit robes everyone wears here. I swear it will be a cold day in Hell when that happens.”

Cordi had to hang up as she reached Gaara’s office, flashing her phone to him and saying, “Say hi, Gaara.” He only responded with hard stare at her, then her screen. Cordi flipped it back to her as she said, “Welp, I gotta go. I’ll talk to ya’ll later. Byyeee!”

They got changed, then arrived at the training field five minutes early, which was odd for them together. Shikamaru had them do their run, which was exhausting again. Both Lynne and Fred had noticed Rox disappearing for a few moments during the run to use her inhaler, and they both covered for her when either Shikamaru or Hinata asked, realizing Rox probably hadn’t said anything for a reason. Lynne was certain of one thing though. If they kept this ten-kilometer run every day, Rox was going to run out of her inhaler medication. That meant Rox was going to have to say something to someone at some point.

The rest of the session went as usual, with Rox’s shuriken throws only slightly better than yesterday’s. At the end of training, Rox hung back, waving her friends on as she said, “I’ve got a question about the shuriken stuff. I’ll catch up with ya’ll later.” Ronnie and Fred accepted that, and walked off.

But something gnawed in Lynne’s gut. Something had been off with Rox all day. So she hung back, watching her friend walk over to the shadow ninja, a coy smile playing on the wind user’s lips. She said something to him, but Lynne couldn’t make it out. But Lynne could see Shikamaru did not agree or appreciate what Rox had said to him. He said something that made Rox’s smile fall. Lynne tried to focus on Shikamaru, to get an idea of what happened.

“Lynne!” Fred called, breaking the spirit user’s concentration. “What are you doing?”

Lynne turned back to see Fred looking at her expectantly, and she automatically replied, “N-nothing.” She looked back at Shikamaru and Rox to see they were looking at her. Shikamaru said something to Rox before disappearing with a poof.

Rox stared at where Shikamaru had been standing, then back at Lynne, and Lynne knew she’d been caught. Rox snatched her bag, and walked off in a different direction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: So, now we’re starting to get into the meat of Part 1. Tensions are rising. People are making mistakes. It’s fun. This chapter came a little easier than the past couple, and I didn’t have to split it in half for once. I did have to move a small section to the next chapter because of flow reasons (because I realized I needed to add a scene for one storyline to make sense), but other than that, we’re now in a good general chug along. And you all have not idea how excited I am for the next chapter. It has a scene I wrote last year that made me realize just how much fun this story was going to be to rewrite.  
> Please remember to like, comment and review!  
> VOCAB!  
> *cheese buns – the technical term is Pao de Queijo from Brazil, which just translates to “cheese bread” or “cheese buns,” however the recipe is particular which changes their appearance from what I’d call cheese bread (being from the U.S.). But because that’s the name’s literal translation, I felt it would just be called cheese buns in whatever language they spoke in Suna.  
> Honestly, I’ve been having difficulties deciding whether to go into “It’s all in Japanese AND English at the same time,” and dealing with the culture clash. I feel that Cordi, being the one who goes to Suna, is the one who has to deal with the culture clashing as part of her character arcs, especially as a U.S. American, where Latin American culture is very prominent and recognizable because of proximity. On top of that, going around the Samba being the canon cultural dance of Suna, I’m writing Suna and the Wind Country to be Latin America culturally (predominantly Brazil, but I’m also including several states in the US which were originally settled by Spain in that term, as well as South and Central America, just because the structure of the homes matches those areas more). Konoha is just Japan, with some slight American influences (Kiba asks for way too many cheeseburgers in the anime to make that negotiable. Boruto too). The Cloud I think clearly is American/Canadian culturally speaking, given demographics, Bee’s Rapping, and Disco being their cultural dance. The Earth and Water Countries, I’m not sure where they fall culturally. (Water Country’s salt water taffy isn’t enough to go on.) Given Boruto mentions in several episodes that each of the nations has their own distinct cultures (predominantly food and art, etc.) that mirrors different regions of our world, I felt this was the best way to do it, but it is still very difficult to keep true to those cultures without overdoing it, because in the end this is still a Japanese story about ninjas (i.e. Japanese warriors/assassins). Hence the Taco-Sushi point in the previous chapter (note, that is an actual restaurant I’ve been too, and it is weirdly good). In the end, this is just how I’ve noticed cultural regions are assigned to each nation in Naruto, and how I’ve tried to show them on a deeper scale to give this fic more realistic depth, which ultimately has no bearing on the actual work of Naruto-verse. Thank you for reading my Ted Talk.


	13. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Warning Lemons and Limes. This is your only warning

**Chapter Twelve: Three’s a Crowd**

After training that afternoon, Rox waved off her friends as they began to exit the field, calling out to them, “I’ve got a question about the shuriken stuff. I’ll catch up with ya’ll later.” Her friends accepted that and continued on. Rox turned to their trainers, seeing Hinata poof off, leaving Shikamaru alone on the field. She held her head high and walked over as confidently as she could. It was a little foreign for her, but the memory of yesterday reminded her he still felt something for her. Something that was worth fighting for. She felt a flirty smile curl on her lips as she said, “So, would you mind helping me with my shuriken throws?”

Shikamaru didn’t meet her gaze, just looked at his shoes a little regretfully. “Rox –”

She could hear it in his voice as he said her name. Regret. “What?” she asked. When he only licked his lips and looked away, she said, “I told you I enjoyed it.”

“It shouldn’t have happened,” Shikamaru rebuked, his light brown eyes finally meeting hers. “I’m your jonin team leader. Your teacher. It’s not right.”

Her courageous smile faltered a little to confusion. “If I were a child, yeah, it would be a problem. But I’m almost nineteen. I’m an adult,” she argued. She let out a laugh as she added, “I’m not even a year younger than you. Your birthday’s after mine.” He looked away at that, but she knew she made a solid point he couldn’t deflect. She sighed frustratedly before stated, “There’s something here. And I don’t want to let it go yet. And from what I gathered yesterday, neither do you.”

When she noticed he wasn’t looking at her, but at the tree line, she huffed annoyedly. “What are you looking at!?” She turned, seeing Lynne’s unmistakable fire-red hair. She had hung back to watch Rox and Shikamaru. It was especially obvious when Lynne tried to duck behind a tree when she saw they had caught her.

Shikamaru pointed towards Lynne as he said, “That’s why.” He licked his lips before clarifying, “It might not be this way in your world, but a ninja’s reputation is the most valuable thing they have. It’s what determines what jobs you get and what you can be trusted with.” He gave her a hard look as he finished, “Whatever this is between us will destroy both of our reputations.” She opened her mouth to refute him, but he cut her off. “What happened yesterday was a mistake. I shouldn’t have let it get so far, and I’m sorry.”

She didn’t know what to say to that. Didn’t know how to respond except glower at him.

He sighed as he turned to walk away, adding over his shoulder, “It won’t happen again.”

She glared at his back, confusion and frustration broiling through her. She spun back to see if Lynne was still there, and anger joined the broiling mixture as she saw the spirit user was still there, watching her like some experiment. Rox exhaled sharply through her nose, and stomped back to the dorms. She didn’t want to see her friends right now. She stormed into her dorm, slamming her door behind her before pacing back and forth trying to figure out what happened.

How could she think things would work out between them? It had only been three dates. Sure his kisses made her feel something in herself she’d never felt before. And just talking to him gave her butterflies in her stomach. But this wasn’t love. Right?

She paused as her eyes caught the bright red headband of deer antlers laying on her dresser. She picked up the headband, feeling her mixed emotions stirring in her heart as she remembered their last date. Laughing about their families and Shikamaru’s first mission. Sharing funnel cake and wiping powdered sugar off his nose and cheek. She felt a tear fall down her cheek, and she held the antlers close to her.

Who was she kidding?

*~*~*

Friday afternoon in Suna was eventful. Just after lunch, Matsuri’s team returned to Suna. It was honestly surprising for Cordi to see them all together in Gaara’s office when she came back from cleaning up their lunches. They looked a little tired and sweaty from having run through the desert. They stood at attention, which was odd to see in Cordelia’s opinion.

Gaara gestured to Cordi as she entered his office, stating, “This is my new assistant, Cordelia Turner.”

Cordi greeted them with a small, “Hello.”

Matsuri’s team regarded her with bored, yet curious, interest as the fire user pulled her chair to the side, picking up her paperwork and placing it next to her. She mumbled a small apology as she crossed the team to grab one of the encyclopedias on his bookshelf to give her something hard to write on.

Matsuri watched her movements with the most interest, asking, “Doesn’t your assistant have her own desk?”

“It will be delivered and installed in two weeks,” Gaara answered blandly.

Again, as Cordi crossed the team back to her chair, she mumbled a small, “Sorry.”

Matsuri’s current outfit made her look more like a formidable kunoichi than the pink dress Cordi saw her in a few days. Today, she wore a black dress, a standard Suna issue flak jacket, thigh-high ninja boots, with her headband tied around her neck. Plus black fingerless gloves with iron bracers. Her johyo was attached at her hip. She looked oddly intimidating as her cold, yet perceptive, glance cut over to Cordi as she returned to her seat and paperwork. A part of her wondered if that was Gaara’s type of woman. Someone who could go to battle for him.

Cordi understood completely that she looked a bit flouncy and girlish by comparison, in her teal form fitting knit dress and her black high-wedge combat boots with socks that went halfway up her calf. Not to mention her silver cross necklace that she’d been wearing more often now. She hadn’t packed a lot of jewelry when she went on vacation. Just three necklaces, and the cross was the one that went with everything. But her looks didn’t mean she couldn’t hold her own. Heck, she beat Gaara in the test. But out of the two of them, Cordi definitely looked more “damsel” than “heroine.”

Which was weird for her, if she was to be totally honest. In school, she was always regarded as the “heinous bitch” of her school, a role she stepped into rather easily, when the “slut” rumors started to prove to be false. After the fallout with her ex, most people regarded her with apprehension, knowing she wasn’t one to give a damn if she tore their world asunder. Again, she never got physical. She just knew what to say to destroy a person.

Matsuri presented her report to Gaara, stating, “Mai-sensei went to deliver the herbs to the hospital and greenhouse.”

“Good,” Gaara exhaled, grabbing the report before flicking through it. “Getting those growing as soon as possible will really help Keiko develop the medical breakthrough she’s been working on.”

“Also,” Matsuri started, a little nervously, “I made a note on the final page of the report. I was wondering if that’s something I should look into.”

Cordi frowned, the kunoichi suspiciously. If she didn’t know Matsuri and Gaara were dating, it might have seemed like nothing. But as her gaze shifted to Gaara, she caught something in his eyes that said she had the right idea as he flicked to the final page of the report. He looked at it for a brief moment, then dropped the report as he answered, “That’ll be fine.”

Matsuri nodded, before she and her team gave a bow and left. As soon as they were out of sight, Gaara ripped the last page of the report out and moved to rip it up when it suddenly burst completely into flames, causing him to drop the paper on the ground. He cursed, moving to step on it, but the flames devoured the page, leaving everything it touched unscathed, except for his now blackened fingertips.

He scowled at Cordi who didn’t even look up from her paperwork as she said, “Your welcome.”

“You just burned the last page of the report,” Gaara huffed annoyedly.

“No. I burned Matsuri’s note asking you out,” Cordi corrected, flipping her pen between her fingers as she added under her breath, “If she actually put that on actual recorded paperwork, she’s dumber than I thought.” She noted Gaara looking surprised at her knowledge of their relationship and smirked. “Did you already forget I know you two are a thing?”

He closed his eyes, taking a calming breath as he sat back down, admitting, “Yes. I did.”

She let out a small snort as she went back to her paperwork. “Well, you can lay off the charade.”

He sighed, scratching his head. “How much do you know?” When she raised an elegant eyebrow at him, he clarified, “About me and Matsuri.”

She pursed her lips, looking up to the ceiling in thought before answering, “Just that you two have been secretly dating for a few months. Lynne said she caught it between you being upset my knee was touching yours, Temari thinking of the Council’s hypothetical baby peace treaty that caused her and Shikamaru’s break-up, and Kankuro thinking you should have just spoken up about being uncomfortable with me.”

“Oh,” he breathed, almost relieved.

She pursed her lips, then asked, “If you don’t mind my prying, whose idea was it to keep your relationship a secret?”

He looked at a far point on the opposite wall, his brow furrowing a little as he thought. “It’s been so long, it’s a little difficult to remember. But I think it was her.” He moved his lips as he brought forward the memories of asking her to date him. “She said something about Temari not being favorable of her. Not to mention the Council would’ve said …” he paused awkwardly before finishing, “something.” He looked at her carefully before asking, “Why?”

She shrugged uncommittedly, stating, “It’s just been my experience that secret relationships don’t tend to work out.”

His gaze on her became more intense as he asked, “Your experience?”

She gave a weird smile as she admitted, “Well, second-hand experience. Through Ronnie.”

He narrowed his eyes as he looked away pensively. “If it was actually Ronnie’s experience, does that make it actually a secret?”

“Secret to everyone else,” Cordi clarified. “She and I never keep anything from each other.”

He crossed his arms skeptically as he asked, “And what happened to this secret relationship?”

“Jealousy,” Cordi stated bluntly. “He’d flirt with other girls. It would piss her off. They’d fight. And the cycle went like that until it broke them up.”

He scoffed. “Well, I’m not one to flirt with other girls.”

“Well, she’s not the only one I know,” Cordi defended. “Take Lynne. One of her boyfriends ended up actually cheating on her when they were supposed to be ‘secretly dating.’” She used air quotes for emphasis. “Also Fred, but for her, it just became mentally exhausting to keep up the charade. It made her paranoid because she didn’t want to be the leak, but she also didn’t want to keep things about her relationship secret. Eventually, she realized there was nothing to the relationship except that it was a secret. All of them said the added stress of the relationship being secret caused problems.”

He gave her another doubting look as he asked, “Again, if those relationships were secret, how do you know about them?”

“Because the relationships were over when they told me,” she answered quickly. Gaara still looked skeptical, and Cordi countered, “Say you and Matsuri broke up tomorrow, and Kankuro made another glib joke about you having an imaginary girlfriend. You wouldn’t correct him and say, ‘Actually, it was Matsuri’?” He pursed his lips as she finished, “Once you’re broken up, the secrets in a relationship don’t mean anything anymore. They’re just something that happened.”

Gaara nodded acquiescingly. “You have a point. I probably would tell Kankuro.” He shrugged as he returned to his paperwork, placing Matsuri’s report on the stack that had shrunk significantly since he returned.

Cordi got a weird look as the cogs in her head began to turn. She pursed her lips as she looked away. “So, why don’t you?” She knew she was playing with fire, but it would save both the brothers so much heartache. Plus, fire couldn’t hurt her anymore.

“’Why don’t I’ what?” he asked, distractedly as he made his notes on the report he was working on.

“Why don’t you tell Kankuro?” Cordi asked. “Do you not trust him?”

Gaara shrugged. “I don’t think she’s ready to go public in any capacity.”

“Kankuro isn’t public. It’s one person,” Cordi argued. “A person you trust with your life.”

“She’s not ready,” Gaara stated. “She barely knows Kankuro. Definitely not enough to trust him.”

Cordi looked at him hard, suppressing the laughter bubbling up in her at how wrong he was. How ignorant he was being. _Barely knows him. By that he means fucking him on the side._ When Gaara looked at her oddly, catching her hard stare, she closed her eyes, and turned back to her work. Gaara didn’t press it, going back to his own work.

There was silence between them for a long time before Cordi asked, “When’s your date?”

Gaara breathed tiredly as he answered, “Tomorrow afternoon.”

The silence lingered again for a moment. “What are ya’ll doing?”

“Lunch and a movie,” Gaara answered blandly. “Why?”

Cordi shrugged. “Just curious.” She let the silence hang between them again before asking, “What movie?”

He dropped his pen as he glared at her, “Why do you need to know?”

“I’m just curious,” she defended. “Is it something popular? Is it a rom-com? Is it a horror movie? Just trying to make conversation.”

“I don’t know. It said she was getting tickets to a movie called _Moonlit Desire_ ,” he answered annoyedly. “Apparently it’s highly rated.”

“So, a romantic movie,” she clarified. She pursed her lips as she looked at him, and he looked back at her boredly. Then she laughed, going back to her paperwork as she stated, “You’re gonna’ hate it.”

He frowned. “And how would you know?”

She was still laughing. “You are nowhere near the demographic for romance films. Knowing you, you’ll probably just find it insipid and unrealistic.”

“And what makes you say that?” he asked, sounding actually curious.

She looked him up and down, then asked, “Bluntly?”

He nodded with an easy smile.

“Well, besides the fact that up until you were thirteen, you liked to murder people?” she started. His expression immediately fell from an easy smile to a pursed, forced smile. “You’re a guy. A twenty-year old guy, so you’re a lot less prone to be interested in girls getting starry eyed over some hunk.” She continued with a shrug, “Generally speaking, guys your age, or really from the ages eleven to nineteen, tend to have a vehement hate of things girls find interesting, like chick-lit or rom-coms. Pop music. The color pink. Or purple.” She looked at him with a pursed look as she finished, “Honestly, its mostly just guys trying to prove they’re masculine enough to be accepted as male. Which is bullshit to begin with, but that’s another debate.”

He swallowed, looking off to the side as he stated, “So, you’re speaking from a generalization rather than knowledge.”

She looked at him skeptically as she asked, “Are you saying it’s wrong?” He looked back at her challengingly, and she just laughed. “No. Please tell me I’m wrong. It’ll totally shift my understanding of you.”

He raised a hairless eyebrow at her. “Positively or negatively.”

“Sideways,” she answered. He frowned, so she clarified, “It won’t change positively or negatively. It’ll just be eye-opening.”

“Well, I don’t hate romantic movies,” he stated. “In fact, I’d consider _Tsundere and Rom_ to be somewhat of a classic.”

“ _Tsundere and Rom_ ,” she repeated. “What’s that about?”

“A son and daughter of warring clans during the Feudal Era find each other and fall in love. It’s forbidden, but they marry anyway, and try to run away, but ultimately die for betraying their clans,” he explained.

She narrowed her eyes as she thought about it. “That sounds an awful lot like _Romeo and Juliet_.”

“You have a story like that in your world?” he asked.

“We have a thousand stories like that. _Romeo and Juliet_ is just the most famous. However, _Tristan and Isolde_ is older,” she commented blandly as she finished one report and moved onto the next. “To be honest, Shakespeare wasn’t known for his originality. Just his way with words.”

“Shakespeare?” Gaara asked, clearly confused by the tidbit.

“William Shakespeare,” Cordi clarified. “He wrote _Romeo and Juliet_ in my world. Although, I’d seriously argue _Hamlet_ and _Macbeth_ are by far his better works. I’d even argue his romantic comedies are much better. _Twelfth Night_ especially has some great moments.”

Gaara looked up with a frown, then opened a drawer in his desk. “That reminds me,” he started as he rifled through it. Finally, he pulled out a sheet of paper as he said, “The Council sent over an estimate for you annual salary, as well as paycheck amount after taxes, costs of housing and feeding your dragon, retirement pay-in, and life insurance is taken out. All standard.”

She looked at Gaara weirdly as she asked, “Costs of housing and feeding a dragon are standard?”

He shot her an annoyed scowl as he said, “You know what I meant.” She took the paper from him with an eyeroll. “Just sign it so HR can process payroll on Monday.”

“WHAAAAAAAAAAA-!?” she shrieked, jumping to a stand as her eyes bugged at the paper. Gaara watched her worriedly as she spun it back to him. “Three thousand dollars!?”

He frowned, even more unsure about her general loudness. Plus, he could have sworn it should have mathed out to more than that. “Your annual salary should be 210,044,” he stated, wondering if there was a flaw. His paycheck usually came out to a little over ten thousand, and he was only paid a little over half. The cost of housing a dragon shouldn’t be that much. It was understandable if she was upset. Something didn’t add up.

“I’m fucking rich!” she laughed. “Holy shit!”

He saw Cordi grab a pen and put it to sign when he threw out his hand, and said, “Hold on. I want to double check something.”

“Wh-what?” she asked.

He slipped the paper away from her and read over it carefully. He looked over the salary distribution, and down at the bottom in fine print was a sum of four thousand dollars was paid into the Turner Clan Fund. This made Gaara very wary. It was the only proof he needed to know the Council was up to something, with plans of using Cordi some way. But for what or how, he wasn’t sure.

“Can I sign it?” Cordi asked, holding her hand out, sounding and looking very impatient.

Gaara decided to withhold his suspicions. For now. He handed her the sheet back, stating, “It’s all accounted for.”

Quickly, she signed it and handed it back to him, singing to herself, “Money, money money!” and dancing to her little ditty. Gaara made a mental note to look into the Council’s actions with Cordelia’s missing money.

*~*~*

“Well, she can’t stay mad at you forever,” Saryu commented, lazing in the field as Lynne brushed his silver mane.

She sighed, her fingers running through his hair after her brush. “You didn’t see her face. She was pissed.” Rox had purposefully ignored Lynne last night around dinner, and Lynne knew she was really mad. “I don’t know, Saryu. My powers have just been getting the better of me. I’m trying to give my friends their privacy. But I worry about them, and reading their minds tells me what’s bothering them.” Her brushing was becoming rougher the more she talked it out. “And it’s not as easy for me to turn it off. I look at someone and have to focus on ignoring their thoughts screaming at me.”

“I understand,” Saryu commented. “Gryffin tends to have issues with me pointing out how his abrasive personality disturbs Cherokee and Nessie.”

“Well, I’m not doing that per say,” Lynne stated.

“You’re sticking your nose in business because you can hear more than anyone else would be able to, and your instinct is to act on your knowledge,” Saryu clarified. “Your compassionate and caring. It’s in your nature. But when it comes to letting things resolve on their own, it’s difficult for you to not help in some way, which is now seen as an intrusion.”

Lynne paused, looking at him carefully. “You know, for a three-week old dragon, you are incredibly insightful.”

“It’s because we share a mind,” Saryu sighed, sounding tired. He laid his head down on the grass as he sighed, “I probably know you better than you know yourself.”

Both Gryffin and Cherokee arrived in the clearing, causing Lynne to frown. Oddly, she couldn’t read the minds of the other dragons, or any animals to be specific, which was a blessing she guessed. She got the summation of their thoughts through her mental link to Saryu. Fred and Rox were coming.

Lynne was surprised by this, knowing from Gryffin’s cutting glance at her that he knew of Rox’s anger directed at Lynne. Having a dragon glaring at you was enough to make you realize your own mortality. Saryu let out a defensive growl, telling Gryffin to calm down before an all-out fight started between them. Lynne turned to Cherokee, who seemed to be the natural leader of the dragons, and asked, “Why are ya’ll meeting them here?” If they knew of the division in the group, surely they wouldn’t want to throw gas on the flames.

“Fred instructed I bring Gryffin to Saryu and you. She wants to resolve this,” Cherokee answered.

Lynne sighed, bristling a little at that. She was all for giving Rox some space until the wind user would eventually forgive her. They didn’t have to drag the dragons into this. She went back to briskly brushing Saryu’s mane, inching down his long body as she went.

Soon enough, they heard voices coming through the trees. Lynne didn’t look up, knowing as soon as she did, she’d hear all the rage whirling in Rox’s mind directed at her, and she wasn’t sure she was ready to hear all that. Although, Rox didn’t give her a chance at that. As soon as they broke the tree line, Rox’s voice died immediately, before she snapped at Fred, “What’s she doing here?”

“I’m staging an intervention,” Fred stated bluntly, looking between her two best friends.

Lynne looked up, focusing hard on putting a mental wall up to block their intruding thoughts. Rox’s face was enough for Lynne to see that she was still angry at her. Fred looked between them like a disappointed parent.

Fred pointed at Rox, stating, “You’ve been weird for two days.” She was very blunt with the observation. Lynne sighed that she wasn’t the only one to pick up on it. “And after yesterday afternoon, it feels like you’re projecting your anger on Lynne.”

“She shouldn’t have been spying,” Rox snapped, glaring at Lynne.

Again, Lynne did her best to keep the block up. Sometimes thoughts in the moment didn’t resemble long-term feelings. But once Lynne heard them, there was no way she could forget them. It was weird. In so many shows featuring a psychic character, it was always played off as goofy, “People think weird things most of the time,” shows, or the character didn’t have human feelings. Neither was accurate for Lynne, she’d found as an actual psychic now. People did generally think stupid thoughts, but when they were about her, they also left an impact. And she didn’t want to remember any of her friends’ thoughts of her when they were angry.

“I’m sorry,” Lynne started. “But you _were_ acting weirdly and I was worried.”

“Or did you read my mind and assume I couldn’t handle things on my own!”

“You know that isn’t true.”

“Do I?” Rox howled. The wind whirling around the tops of the trees showing Lynne and Fred just how angry she was.

Fred stepped between them, her hands up. “Alright. Everyone cool-off.”

Rox shifted her stance, crossing her arms, looking very defensive now.

Fred sighed, dropping her arms as she looked at both of them. “Now, Lynne. You shouldn’t have been spying.”

“I said I’m sorry,” she offered again.

Fred threw up another hand, silencing her. “But, Rox, you have to tell us if something’s going on. You’re acting weird and we’re all worried.”

Rox scowled, “Am I not allowed to have secrets anymore?”

“We’re all each other has now,” Fred clarified. “Cordi’s gone. But we don’t want to lose you too.”

“Well, I don’t need you for this. Any of you,” Rox snapped back. She looked at Gryffin and huffed, “Let’s go,” stomping over towards him. He extended a paw to help her up on his shoulders and flying off to another part of the forest.

Fred sighed. Lynne pursed her lips and mumbled, “Well, that went well.”

“What is going on with her?” Fred asked, looking at Lynne.

The psychic licked her lips, shaking her head. “I’m trying my hardest not to read ya’ll’s thoughts. But from what I can tell, something happened with Shikamaru.”

Fred’s green eyes landed on Lynne’s icy blue ones carefully. Lynne shot her a look that told her that it was all she knew. Fred set her jaw, jutting out her chin before huffing, “Brilliant. Boy troubles.”

Lynne frowned, looking off towards where Rox took off with Gryffin. “You know, I’ve been part of the group for almost four years now. And I don’t think I’ve ever seen her dealing with boy troubles.”

“That’s because she plays things super close to the chest when it comes to real boys,” Fred answered. She ran her hand through her dark brown hair as she added, “And the last time she had a boyfriend was freshman year, so before you showed up. And that was because one of our old friends set her up.”

Lynne felt dread pit in her stomach. She remembered hearing the story of that friend. It didn’t end well because of how Rox’s relationship went south. “I … I set her up with Shikamaru,” Lynne admitted nervously.

“Well, she likes Shikamaru,” Fred stated plainly. “She didn’t like Chuck.” She placed a comforting hand on Lynne’s shoulder. “She’ll come around.” She then continued onto her dragon, scratching Cherokee under her chin.

Lynne sighed, turning back to Saryu who shot her a look that said he backed Fred’s assessment. She went back to brushing his mane, catching up with Fred. “So, when are you going to tell me about what happened with Kankuro?” Lynne asked bluntly.

Fred laughed. “Dear God. It was a one-night stand.”

“Yeah,” Lynne laughed. “But when have you ever settled for a one-night stand?”

Fred shrugged. “I’m not as prudish as the Turners. I can have a one-night stand and it not mean anything.”

“But did it?” Lynne asked, eyeing her friend closely. “I mean that Earthquake had to mean something.”

Fred blushed hard. “Are you saying you don’t believe me?”

“I’m saying you’re being rather defensive for a one-night stand.”

“Look. He’s hot and was available,” Fred argued, only making Lynne laugh. “What?”

“I don’t think I know _anyone_ who’d describe Kankuro as ‘hot,’” Lynne remarked through her chuckles.

“Then they aren’t looking at his ass, which was clearly sculpted by angels,” Fred stated matter-of-factly. Lynne laughed harder. “Or his entire torso really. It was a marvel.” Lynne let out a squawk at her description, and Fred looked at her annoyed. “He really does look amazing once you take off the clothes.”

“And the makeup?” Lynne offered, not suppressing her cheeky smile well at all.

Fred scowled. Lynne laughed harder. “Look, I can’t help you if you don’t see how attractive he is. Because he really is beautiful,” Fred started. Lynne nodded along, trying hard to keep a straight face. “As for the Earthquake … I—” She cut herself off unsure if she should admit this. She gulped back her pride and said, “I’d never had an orgasm before that. He’s the first guy who refused to stop until I had one.” She blushed, fondly looking back on the memory of the night before the disaster.

Lynne made an impressed face, then nodded. “Well done, Kankuro.”

“And it _was_ just a one-night stand,” Fred reiterated. “As far as I know, the guy I end up with is currently married and expecting his first kid. At least that’s what the video insinuates. I’m not going to be in a serious relationship with this guy for a while, and I don’t want to entertain the prospect of another relationship between then and now.” She looked at Lynne to gauge how Lynne felt about that explanation, and saw the psychic taking her in with full sympathy. She sighed, “So, a meaningless one-night stand with a really hot guy none of my friends called dibs on … it felt like the right thing to do.”

Lynne nodded. “Alright,” she breathed. Fred went back to stroking Cherokee, pulling off any stuck shed. Lynne smirked then asked, “So, if Kankuro came back today for another one-night stand—?”

“Oh, definitely,” Fred answered immediately. She smiled as she joked, “We’d just have to find somewhere outside the village to conduct our business.”

Lynne smiled conspiratorially. “Maybe the hot springs.”

“Oh, that would be great!” Fred sighed. “Relaxing spa time and sex?” The shared a look and laughed. As they calmed, Fred added, “Don’t … Don’t tell Rox and Ronnie. I’ll tell them when I’m ready.”

Lynne held up her pinky, wiggling it at her as she said, “I promise.”

This made Fred visibly relax. “Good.”

*~*~*

Gaara hadn’t gotten all that much sleep when Saturday morning rolled around, and he was awoken by loud music ringing through the penthouse. It was starkly different from the samba music Cordi had been playing last time. It was no doubt that Cordi was the source of this music as well. Again, she was the only person in the penthouse who would dare play music so loudly.

He picked himself up, quickly going through his morning routine, turning on his shower before relieving himself. His shower was quick, and he wrapped his towel around his waist as he brushed his teeth. Once he finished that, he towel dried his hair before getting dressed for his day.

He walked out to the main living space of the penthouse, seeing Temari had beaten him there, and was cutting some berries as Cordi poured some mixture into a pan, then pantomiming her spatula was a mic as she sang along to the music. _“Was this over before! Before it ever began! Your kiss. Your clothes. Your crutch. Like the devil’s got your hand. This was over before, before it ever began! Your lips. Your lies. Your lust. Like the devil’s in your hands!”_

“Good morning, Gaara,” Temari stated over the music.

“Good morning,” he grunted back.

“Oh, Gaara,” Cordi smiled, turning around to him. She grabbed a glass of frozen something green with bluish-black flecks and handed it to him. He looked at it with a frown. It looked disgusting. “Can you take that to Kankuro? He’s got a hangover.”

Gaara continued to frown at the frozen mush. “And what is this?”

“My dad’s hangover remedy,” Cordi stated. “It tastes better than it looks. Just tell him to drink it slowly. And not to come out until it’s done.”

Gaara decided to ignore the obvious question of how she learned such a recipe, and just took the concoction to his brother. He found him hanging over the toilet of the bathroom Kankuro shared with Temari and Cordi. He figured quickly that they hadn’t gotten to use the bathroom yet, since Kankuro looked as if he’d spent the second half of the night in the toilet, as he was still in the clothes he wore out last night. A black tunic tied with a white sash, and tighter fitting black pants than he wore into a battle. He also didn’t usually play with his makeup, except to paint his eyes, on his off-time, so his face was mostly bare and waxy as he groaned into the toilet.

Gaara sighed, “I will never understand why you do this to yourself.”

Kankuro spit into the toilet before resting his head on the cool porcelain. Gaara suppressed a grimace at just how unhygienic that was. “Ugh,” the older brother grunted, “I’m never drinking again.”

“You say that every time you go out with Hiro, and yet, here you are,” Gaara commented thoughtfully.

“Shhhh,” Kankuro grumbled, waving a weak hand at him. “I don’t need your judgement right now. I need silence, and for the floor to stop moving.”

Gaara handed him the concoction, stating, “Cordelia made you a hangover remedy.” Kankuro grimaced at the questionable looking beverage before reaching out and grabbing it. He winced as he took the first sip greedily, and Gaara warned him, “She said to drink it slowly.”

Kankuro gulped down the first sip, before his eyes shot wide. He looked at the drink with wonder. “Holy shit,” he laughed before taking another sip. He stood after the second sip. “This is a fucking miracle worker.”

Gaara was mildly surprised before warning him, “She did say finish the drink before you come get breakfast.” Kankuro nodded his acceptance of the direction. Gaara gestured to his brother’s face as he added, “Also wash your face.”

Kankuro rolled his eyes as he muttered, “Yes, Dad.”

Gaara took that as his queue to return to the kitchen. Had this been the first time Kankuro referred to him as “Dad” when drunk or hungover, he probably would have bristled more. The term still made him uncomfortable and wonder if he was more like their father than he originally thought, but he also understood now it was just a figure of sarcasm Kankuro would use to tell Gaara he was acting too much like Kankuro’s caretaker or handler rather than his brother.

Another song had begun to play. “How’s he doin’?” Temari asked, looking up from her berries.

“He’s standing thanks to Cordelia’s remedy,” Gaara stated blandly.

Cordelia gestured to the table and said, “Can you set the table?”

Gaara gave a small nod as he moved to grab the plates and utensils. He couldn’t help but watch as Cordi went back to singing to the music as she cooked their breakfast. _“I see the girls walk by dressed in their summer clothes. I have to turn my head until my darkness goes.”_ He felt a small, appreciative smile appear on his face seeing her dancing around his kitchen with abandon.

She spun to Temari as she sang, _“I see a line of cars and they’re all painted black. With flowers and my love, both never to come back.”_

Temari rolled her eyes at the younger woman’s antics as Cordelia continued her antics, _“I see people turn their heads and quickly look away. Like a newborn baby, it just happens every day!”_

“You’re burning the pancakes,” Temari remarked blandly.

Cordi flipped back to the pan as she laughed, “Oh shit. My bad. This’ll be mine.”

Temari rolled her eyes as Gaara commented, “You must really like this song.”

“I’m surprised you don’t,” Cordi replied, pulling off the semi-burnt pancake. “Didn’t you hear the last line?” She pointed to her music playing device, and he shook his head. “Listen,” she directed, before going back to singing, “ _Maybe then I’ll fade away and not have to face the facts. It’s not easy facing up when your whole world is black.”_ Gaara frowned at the musical device, trying to make sense of the song as he made himself a mug of morning tea. The tempo dropped as just the voice, with Cordi’s, rang out, _“No more will my green sea go turn a deeper blue. I could not foresee this thing happening to you.”_ She used the quiet moment to start on the next round of pancakes, pouring four onto the griddle they usually used for meats.

It picked up again as Cordi’s head bobbing increased as she sang out, “ _If I look hard enough into the setting sun, my love will laugh with me before the morning comes. I see a red door and I want it painted black. No colors anymore. I want them to turn black.”_

Gaara realized it was repeating now, and shook his head. “I’m not sure why _I_ would like it.”

Cordi eyed him as if he’d gone crazy. “Really?” He sipped his tea, looking at her for clarification. “The poetry of the lyrics. It feels a little upbeat, but the words are anything but.”

“I see,” Gaara remarked, sharing a knowing look at Temari. “Yes. Very deep.” He took another small sip, letting it fill him, and warm his body.

Clearly, the fire user heard the sarcastic lilt in his voice. Cordi spun around to him, pointing her spatula very accusatorily as she said, “I don’t think you get to comment on poetry, Mr. ‘Crimson tears.’”

He frowned as the music played out. “What are you talking about?”

“Your murder poetry about making it rain blood,” Cordi clarified as she turned back to flip the new batch.

Inwardly, Gaara blanched, realizing she knew about one of the things he tried frequently to forget about his past. He did his best to hide his embarrassment by sipping his tea. Being a murderer and a bit unpredictable as a ninja was one thing. Reciting his own poetry about it was just cringe-inducing.

“I forgot you did that,” Temari remarked.

“Please, continue to forget,” Gaara replied into his mug, now very self-conscious. He set a slight glower on Cordi as he said, “That part of my life is well behind me.”

Cordi raised an eyebrow challengingly at him as she asked, “So, you don’t write poetry anymore?”

He didn’t dignify that question with an answer, instead opting to drink his tea.

Another song began to play, which Cordi hummed along to as Kankuro walked out to join them. He pointed at Cordi as he declared, “You are a miracle worker.” He dropped the empty glass on the counter dramatically as he asked, “What is in that?”

“Ginger ale, yogurt, blueberries, grapes, spinach, banana, and mint,” she answered, before shrugging as she added, “and ice, and crushed ibuprofen.” She gestured to the mugs, stating, “Now you need some tea, either ginger or mint, and water to help flush your system, and carb load with some pancakes and eggs.” She smiled as she pulled them off the griddle, stating, “And good timing, because the first eight are done … well, twelve if you don’t include the four I burned earlier.”

She turned to hand the platter full of pancakes and a second platter of scrambled eggs to Gaara, ordering, “Put those on the table. I’ve got one more batch to do.”

Gaara did as directed before taking a seat. Temari followed suit, pointing towards the fridge as she directed Kankuro, “Hey, grab the sweet milk and cinnamon sugar.” Kankuro did as directed.

Cordi paused, her batter pouring, looking at the siblings weirdly. “The what?”

“Chocolate syrup too?” Kankuro asked over her as he looked in the fridge.

“Yes,” both Gaara and Temari answered.

Cordi watched as Kankuro brought the condiments over, setting them on the table before sitting down as they each began dressing their berries and pancakes with drizzled sweet milk, cinnamon sugar, and then chocolate syrup on top, except Gaara who only dressed his pancakes with berries, sweet milk and cinnamon sugar. Cordi gaped at them as they each put their hands together and said, “Itadakimasu,” before digging in.

She finished the last batch, taking it to the table with her plate of burnt and ugly pancakes. She looked at the condiments carefully, unsure what to put on her pancakes

Gaara seemed to notice her hesitation, and asked after a swallow, “Everything alright?”

She pursed her lips, then stated, “I’ve never put any of this stuff on my pancakes.”

Kankuro looked at her weirdly as he scoffed, “What? You eat them dry?”

“No. With butter and syrup.”

Gaara stood to grab the butter, but Kankuro held out his hand, stopping his brother. Kankuro smiled deviously as he asked, “What was it you said to me the other day? About that saying from your world. When in … something.”

She internally rolled her eyes. “When in _Rome_ ,” she corrected, “do as the Romans do.” She sighed, seeing Gaara sit back down. “Alright. Which condiment should I use?”

“All of them,” Kankuro pressured.

She pursed her lips, then stated, “Where I’m from, you don’t really mix chocolate and cinnamon. It kind of clashes the flavors.”

“Well, here, we do,” Kankuro stated.

“Ignore Kankuro,” Temari stated, shooting the middle sibling a look, before offering, “Just do the sweet milk and cinnamon, like Gaara. That’s kind of the Suna standard for morning pastries.”

“Ok,” she breathed, reaching for the sweat milk before drizzling it over her ugly pancakes.

“By the way,” Kankuro asked, jutting his thumb over his shoulder, “what’s with the music?”

Cordi shrugged as she put the sweet milk down. “It’s how we used to wake up Saturday mornings. My dad would blast his music while he made pancakes or waffles. Usually we had to help with the waffles.”

Gaara blinked at her carefully. “Every Saturday?”

“Every Saturday he was home,” she answered. She shook the cinnamon sugar over her pancakes as she added, “He occasionally had business trips that would take him away.”

“And he’d play this?”

Cordi looked at Gaara oddly for his interest. “Not this song. This is ‘Basket Case’ by Green Day, or as I call it, The Uchiha Anthem.” They frowned at her as she chuckled at her own joke. “Because it starts with, _‘Do you have the time to listen to me whine about nothing and everything all at once?_ ’” She was still giggling, but the siblings just eyed her weirdly. She sobered up and cleared her throat, muttering, “It came out in the nineties, so it’s not old enough. But Paint it Black was on his list.” Gaara looked curious, and Cordi smiled, “The one I was singing in the kitchen earlier. He plays either classic rock, which is music that was popular when he was a teenager, or Tchaikovsky, a very bombastic classical composer.” She laughed to herself as she cut her first piece of pancake as she said, “He has no in-between.” That made Gaara give her a small smile.

She looked at her pancakes, and sighed, “Now,” before stabbing her cut stack with her fork, “let’s see if this is any good.” She picked it up before just going ahead and putting it in her mouth. She paused, letting the flavors settle in her mouth as she chewed. She saw all the siblings were looking at her curiously, and she smiled as she swallowed. “Alright. It’s pretty good,” she stated, cutting a new piece.

Kankuro beamed at that. “Pretty good!” He laughed, clapping a hand on her shoulder as he declared to his siblings, “We’ll make a Sand Villager of her yet!”

The conversation devolved as they ate their breakfast, Cordi sharing a few stories from home and Temari and Kankuro sharing a few of their own. Gaara had to note, it was weird how well she seemed to fit with his family.

Around about the time they began clearing the table, each helping with the chores of cleaning, another song began to play with slow-building guitar riffs. Cordi pointed to her device, stating, “Oh my god! The timing!” They each frowned at her as she said, “It’s ‘Enter Sandman’ by Metallica.”

“Really?” Kankuro asked, looking at the musical device weirdly. They each remembered the remark of the two songs Cordi’s friends equated to the two sand brothers.

Cordi was turning up before any of them could answer. Temari and Kankuro nodded blandly, watching her pantomime dramatically to the guitar. Then she started to sing passionately, _“Say your prayers, little one. Don’t forget, my son, to include everyone. I tuck you in, warm within. Keep you free from sin. ‘Til the Sandman, he comes!”_ She continued on, even though all three siblings were watching her oddly _“Sleep with one eye open! Gripping your pillow tight.”_ Now, she started thrashing her head, throwing her hair about as she continued with the music, _“Exit light. Enter night.”_ She threw her hand out to Gaara dramatically as she sang, _“Take my hand,”_ before closing it in a fist. _“We’re off to never-never land.”_

“What is this song about?” Temari asked.

Cordi shrugged in the interlude as she answered, “Something about kids having nightmares.”

“So, not actually about me,” Gaara filled in blandly.

Cordi shook her head. “No, this song is way older than the Naruto comics in my world.”

“What about the other one?” Kankuro asked.

“Master of Puppets?”

Kankuro nodded.

“It’s way older than this one.”

“No,” Kankuro huffed. “What’s it about?”

“Oh,” Cordi grumbled before answering blasé, “Drug abuse.”

Kankuro blinked, then rolled his eyes muttering a small, “Ri-ight.”

They finished their chores as Cordi went back to singing, steadily getting more ridiculous in her theatrics, trying to pull them into it, as the song went on. Especially when the guitar solo hit. “ _Hush little baby, don’t say a word. And never mind that noise you heard. It’s just the beasts under your bed. In closet. In your HEAD!”_

“Well, that lyric applied to you,” Kankuro joked at Gaara, who only cut him an admonishing look.

“Shukaku’s a friend, now,” Gaara clarified.

“Doesn’t mean he wasn’t in your head. Hey-oh!” Cordi laughed at her own jab, throwing up a fist to Kankuro, which he bumped back.

Gaara’s jaw tightened, seeing how buddy-buddy his siblings were with the fire nuisance. He wasn’t sure what it was about Cordi. There were times like five minutes ago when Cordi was a comfortable presence, then moments like now when she was more grating than most. As they finished up, Gaara dismissed himself, stating, “I’ve got paperwork to catch up on.”

His siblings nodded understandingly, but Cordi stopped antics immediately and asked, “Oh, do you need me to work, too?”

Gaara froze, looking at her blankly as he realized his old excuse to use work as a cover story for when he went on his dates would no longer go without question. Should he tell her to join him so his siblings don’t suspect anything? Would they suspect something? This was unknown territory, and Gaara did not like unknowns.

“Because I was hoping to check in on Aleera,” Cordi started, scratching her temple. “But if you need me to …”

“No,” Gaara said, cutting her off, thankful she suggested her own excuse. “You check on your dragon. I’ll be fine.” He turned, to leave, inwardly sighing with relief that the situation sorted itself out. As he walked through the foyer, he heard Cordi inviting Temari and Kankuro with her to check on Aleera, with Kankuro bowing out as he said he wanted to get some sleep. Gaara made his way to his office, giving himself an hour to do some extra paperwork before he had to prepare for his date.

He worked rather proficiently within the hour, turning out three long reports with just two minutes to spare in the hour. He figured he could get started on another report to help his cover. Once he got through the first few pages, he stood up to lock his office door as he prepared. First step was making a sand clone to sit in his space while he was gone. He went to his desk and grabbed the motion sensor and its beeper that he’d have in his pocket. Being Kazekage meant dealing with drop-ins from ninjas to councilmembers. No one could date normally under such circumstances. Gaara found it was best to be prepared.

He walked over to the built-in wardrobe where his dating disguise hung. No doubt the wardrobe was originally installed for the Kazekage robes, which he remembered his father only wearing when dealing with national dignitaries. He quickly undressed and redressed in his dating costume. To the average person, this might seem like overkill, but with how the news media treated the kages’ personal lives like a source of entertainment, it was the only logical way to keep his dating life private. Ever since the peace times started after the Fourth Ninja War, and the recent development of a twenty-four-hour news-cycle, the Kages’ lives were easy targets to get viewers. Gaara was not an exception to this rule. In fact, he seemed to be the easiest target because he was young and elusive. He couldn’t count how many nothing news stories he’d seen of himself doing menial things, full of speculations about what those menial things meant.

Once he finished dressing himself in the basic black shirt, with short sleeves that hung loosely around his biceps, the golden-brown shawl most people in Suna wore over it, basic black pants, and he lazily fastened an obi somewhere between green and blue, he grabbed one of the most important parts of his disguise. His sandy-blonde wig. He pulled it on, tucking away any stray strands of his natural auburn hair before tugging his wig into place, and moving the blonde strands to the correct position. He usually wasn’t so particular with his looks, but with the importance of the façade of a costume made it imperative any and all cracks were addressed. He then moved to another important part of his disguise. His colored contacts. There were parts of his eyes that were complete giveaways to his identity. Seafoam eyes weren’t entirely common in Suna, and the dark lines on his eyelids only showed on people who could perform the magnetic release. But Gaara having been born the Shukaku’s jinchuriki, his lines were permanent. He popped in his contacts, which changed his eye-color from seafoam to dark violet, and gave him dark pupils, which he didn’t naturally have. He grabbed a pallet of pale eye shadow to tone down his rings from the tanuki mark to just shoddily applied eyeliner. Then the final piece, a white bandana tied around his forehead to cover his kanji.

He took a look at himself in the mirror, always mildly hoping to see a flash of Yashamaru or his mother. Ever since Temari mildly remarked how much he looked like their father before his marriage meeting with Hakuto, he had difficulty seeing anyone else in himself. Before, he barely saw a resemblance between himself and any of his family. Maybe a bit similar to Kankuro in their chins and mouths.

He grabbed the smaller canteen of sand he used for this disguise that looked like a regular skin of water, that he attached to a holster on his pants. He then pocketed his beeper and gift he’d bought Matsuri while he was in Konoha. before he finished setting up the motion sensor on his desk inconspicuously in his pen holder. He then opened one of his office windows and climbed out. He knelt on the side of the Kazekage building, sending his sand to unlock and open his door just enough for passersby to not question his presence. He then closed the window, and shunshined down to the sandy ground.

As he made his way towards the restaurant he and Matsuri were meeting at, he was proud to note he was again successful in his disguise. Usually when he walked around town as the Kazekage, he was noticed. Now he just looked like anybody else.

He found her sitting at a table already outside on a tented terrace of the restaurant. She stood as she saw him, and smiled brightly and waved at him, as if he hadn’t already found her. She wore a pink sundress with a white crocheted poncho with gold tipped tassels around her shoulders, and brown sandals. He walked over to her as she admonished, “You’re late.”

He leaned over to her, kissing her cheek as he said, “You should know by now when I say twelve, I mean twelve fifteen.”

She grabbed his head and smiled as she said, “I know. It’s why I got the movie tickets for two o’clock.” She pulled his head back down, meeting his lips with hers. Her tongue poked out a little, licking at his cupid’s bow. His lips parted in slight shock again, and she eased her tongue in a bit.

A shot of revulsion went through him, churning painfully in his stomach, and he pulled away, hiding the sensation with a smile as he sat down. He reached in his pocket, grabbing the small black box as he said, “I bought you a gift while I was in Konoha.”

She beamed as he put the box on the table before sliding it across. She pulled it towards her, her fingers brushing his as she took the box from him. She undid the gold ribbon and pulled the top off. “Oh, Gaara,” she breathed, pulling out the necklace. “It’s beautiful.” It was a simple gold pendant necklace, but the stone and metalwork on the pendant itself was beautiful.

“It’s high quality gold, so it shouldn’t fade. The main stone is a polished rose opal,” Gaara stated, “and the swirl at the top is inlaid with precisely cut crystals.” He looked at her carefully, taking in her awe at the present. “Do you like it?”

“Like it? I love it,” she declared. She held it out to him and asked, “Do you mind?” gesturing to her neck. He nodded, standing up and grabbing the necklace from her, fastening it around her neck. She grabbed the pendant, positioning it under her poncho so it glimmered between the knots. She craned her neck to look at him as she said, “It’s perfect.”

He smiled. “Good.”

He went back to his seat, noticing a slight look of disappointment flit across her features. Only for a second, but he did see it, and it made him wonder if he missed a queue. Lee suggested a gift when they were chatting about their relationships. And he thought he was good from her reaction. But he wondered if there was something else he was missing. He wouldn’t voice his worries, because she was smiling now, her hand over his with her thumb running over his. He flipped his hand to hold hers, running his own hand over her knuckles.

“I missed you,” she sighed.

He smiled warmly at her, unsure exactly how to respond. Generally speaking, he’d been fine without her, and there was a lot happening in Konoha that he only noticed her absence a few times. But not in a capacity that he felt she needed to be there. Maybe that was callous, but he’d always been pretty solitary in that regard. Carefully considering his response, he replied, “Yes, three weeks is a lot longer than you’d think.”

Her thumb slowed a little, and he dreaded for a moment he said something wrong.

“Hello,” their waiter greeted, and they pulled their hands apart as she continued, “My name is Ayumi. What can I get you two today?” They made their orders, Gaara letting Matsuri go first. The bubbly waitress left, declaring, “I’ll get those right out for you.”

The silence hung between them before Gaara admitted, “After the last time we saw each other, I wasn’t sure we were in a good place.”

Matsuri grimaced, scratching at the place between her eyebrows. “To be honest, I kinda’ wish we could just forget that night,” she said. She waved off her excuses like a bad odor as she said, “I was drunk …”

“I could tell,” Gaara commented blithely.

She winced at that, then added, “I also did some really stupid shit. That whole night is just one big embarrassment.” She sighed, putting her arms around her as she said, “I really just wish that night never happened.”

“Alright,” Gaara said easily. “That night never happened.”

“Thank you.”

There was silence between them for another few moments before Matsuri asked, “So, what’s this thing with Cordelia?”

“ _Thing?_ ” he asked.

“Yeah. What’s her story?” Matsuri asked. Gaara looked away, unsure how to answer, and Matsuri scoffed. “You can’t tell me that there isn’t a story there. You’ve been gone three weeks, and all of a sudden you’re bringing home this strange, _pretty_ , girl to live with you. And she’s also working with you now.”

“It’s classified,” he answered blandly.

“ _Classified._ ” She sounded skeptical.

“Strictly need to know.”

She held her hands out as she laughed, a little bitterly, “But I’m your girlfriend. Surely, you’re allowed to tell me something.”

“No, I can’t,” he answered, a sharpness in his tone telling her to drop it.

She pursed her lips, looking away. He inwardly sighed, knowing that from her perspective, it looked sketchy when it was anything but. “You said you thought we weren’t in a good place when you left?”

He frowned, unsure of what she was getting at.

His expression was enough of a silent confirmation for her. She mulled her lips together, clearly unsettled by a thought. “D-did you have a fling with her?” Gaara’s eyes went wide at the question, but she rushed with another question, “Oh, god. She’s not pregnant, is she?”

“Wha-? NO,” he blurted.

“Because, I’ll forgive you. But I just …”

“Matsuri,” he started, grabbing her hand to derail this crazy line of thought, and to make sure he had her full attention. When her eyes connected with his, he said slowly, “It’s nothing like that. Cordi’s and my relationship is strictly professional.” She looked uneasy with his confirmation, so he added, “I promise, as soon as the confidentiality of the situation is lifted, I’ll tell you everything.”

“You promise?”

“Yes.”

This settled her. She sighed, relaxing in her chair.

Gaara couldn’t help the small laugh that escaped his nose. “I can’t believe you thought there was something like that going on there.”

She frowned at him pointedly, arguing, “Well, she’s very pretty.” She looked down at her own chest as she muttered, “Not to mention she’s got certain attributes a lot of men find attractive.”

Gaara missed that addition as he said, “She’s also loud, vulgar, and rather rude, and therefore, very annoying. Not to mention, kind of self-righteous. It’s ludicrous to think we’d be like that in any capacity.” He ignored the small reminder one brain cell called out, _Yeah, except the whole dreaming those fantasies for five days straight._ Gaara ignored it because after working with her a few days, he understood those fantasies were just lust. Lust was just an animalistic urge to procreate. It wasn’t love.

Matsuri frowned, letting out a harsh scoff. “I’ve never heard you so negative about someone before.”

“It takes a lot to bother me,” Gaara commented. “Yet, she does it so well. It’s a gift really.” He smiled as he recounted, “She’s been my assistant for three days, and has already managed to upend how I work and my schedule. She also incessantly taps her pencil on her knuckles when she’s reading. Or humming. And she as a way of saying, ‘Sir,’ that makes it clearly mean ‘asshole.’” He looked back at Matsuri, and he could tell she was uncomfortable with what he said, although he wasn’t sure what. Maybe it was the slight admiration in his tone. He did admire Cordi’s guts, knowing what she knew about him. “If she wasn’t staying with us, I wouldn’t attempt to be on good terms with her. She’s not someone I can stand to be around for too long.”

She shrugged. “If you say so.”

He pressed his lips together, noting her unease. “What’s gone on with you?” he asked, figuring the best way around it was a change of topic. She seemed to lighten up at that. Their date returned to its usual détente. They ate their food, Gaara paying for it at the end. They had enough time between their meal and their movie to walk through the public part of the Suna Oasis Gardens, which wasn’t far from the theater. They held hands on their stroll.

He stopped by the fountain to see the aloe planted along the edges between benches. She used her other hand to grab his arm, hugging his bicep to her, a little too tightly, as she said, “I always loved seeing the statues around this fountain.” She pulled him around, away from the cacti as she asked, “Look at this one. It looks like those stacked rocks you see in Zen gardens, but it’s falling apart.”

Gaara frowned, not exactly seeing that. His first impression was someone carved a stone cactus, but he realized if he said that, Matsuri would complain. Women didn’t particularly care about botany or cacti. And he didn’t want to annoy her. So, instead he offered a vague nod.

They went onto their movie. He bout Matsuri her candy, himself a small popcorn, and drinks. They sat quietly in the dark theater as the trailers for upcoming movies rolled, and then the movie started. Gaara immediately realized why the movie was rated R-18. It opened with sex scenes. Plural. Introducing the leading man and woman by juxtaposing their sex scenes shot for shot. The man’s scene was clumsy and clownish, clearly played for laughs, while the woman opposite him was passionate and sensual. The introduction ended with the couples in bed in post-coital stupors. The leading man’s lover tells him she can’t be with him anymore, and they break up, with the man clearly being clownishly heartbroken. The leading woman turned out to be a prostitute as she takes her payment and her partner leaves. Gaara was immediately uncomfortable. He could hear Matsuri snickering next to him at the man’s oafish bedroom fumbling, so he didn’t want to chance her catching his uncomfortable gaze.

From the introduction, the plot was rather straight forward. The man meets the prostitute one night, it sounded like a bachelor’s party, and when the man realizes the prostitute is a prostitute, he hires her to train him to being good at sex. Of course, there’s a deadline for him. He’ll be seeing his ex at his friend’s upcoming wedding. In that time, of course the prostitute and the man fall in love, but don’t admit it until after the wedding.

About halfway through the movie, his beeper went off, and he couldn’t be more relieved. Several people chided at him from the darkness, “They said turn it off before the movie!”

“What is it?” Matsuri asked in a hushed voice.

“Someone’s in my office,” Gaara murmured.

“Do we need to go?”

“No, I set up for this in mind.”

He shot her a winning smile as he silenced his beeper. He put his fingers to his eye as he activated the third eye control of his clone.

He was back in his office, just where he’d left his clone sitting, seeing Cordi waving a hand over his face as she asked, “Gaara? Did you miss your date?”

He inwardly sighed that it wasn’t even a real situation. “I’m there right now,” Gaara answered.

Cordi yelped and jumped back, then glared at him. “You need to stop scaring me like that. I called your name like five times.”

“What are you doing here, Cordi?” he asked.

“What are _you_ doing here?” she snapped back. “You were supposed to be on a date.”

He looked at her oddly, because she clearly didn’t hear him earlier. “I’m on my date right now,” he reiterated.

Cordi’s eyes went wide, mortified, then covered her mouth as she asked, “Oh shit. Is she under the desk?”

That made him blush. Not that she could see. His sand clone couldn’t blush. He was thankful he was in the darkness of the theater, so Matsuri couldn’t gauge his expression either. “No. We’re at the theater,” he barked.

“Oh,” she sighed, clearly relieved. Then she frowned. “But, then how …?”

Gaara frowned. “Did they not cover clones in comics.”

She closed her eyes, waving him off. “They did. I’m just being stupid. Ignore me.”

“You still haven’t answered my question,” Gaara stated.

She looked at his clone confused. “What question?”

He scowled. He hated repeating himself. “What are you doing here?”

She shrugged. “Temari and I saw Aleera and hashed things out. Then she went off to meet up with some friends, and I decided to come back to make a dent on the medical reports. Since you were putting in some time here today, I thought I’d do the same. Be a team player.”

“Well, if you’re staying in here, I have to turn off my sensor,” he stated. “Otherwise it’ll keep beeping, which will annoy the other people in the theater.”

She nodded. “Understood. I’ll just go upstairs.”

“Alright,” he breathed, about to disconnect.

“While I have you,” she started, throwing up a hand. He looked at her to show he still had control of the clone. “How’s the movie?”

He pursed his lips before answering, “It’s something. A bit bawdy for my tastes.”

She raised an eyebrow at him as she asked, “What’s it about?”

“A man hiring a prostitute to teach him how to have sex, then falling in love with the prostitute,” Gaara answered blandly, even though in the theater he was blushing a lot.

She looked at him with excited eyes and a bright smile as she asked, “And are you enjoying it?”

“Not at the moment,” he commented blithely, figuring she’d understand his double meaning.

“You said Matsuri picked it out?”

He blinked at her slowly. “Yes. And?”

She made a funny face before she asked, “Well, have you and Matsuri … done it yet?”

“Goodbye, Cordelia.”

“I didn’t mean –”

He wasn’t listening anymore. It wasn’t an appropriate conversation to have with his secretary. However, it did mean he had to subject himself to another hour of what he’d deem a porn. He sighed through his nose as he shifted his back to be comfortable.

“Everything alright?” Matsuri leaned over and asked barely above a whisper.

“Yes,” he answered, forcing a smile. “Everything’s fine.”

*~*~*

By Thursday the sixteenth, Fred and Lynne were getting annoyed with Rox’s cold shoulder. Ronnie hadn’t even noticed, curled up in the honeymoon phase of her relationship with Kiba. But Fred and Lynne were done with Rox’s skulking. It was time for some tough love, they agreed.

It was past dinner time, and they knew Rox was hiding out in her room after training, as she had every day after training. Dressed in their finest party clothes, with makeup on, Lynne used her telekinesis to unlock the door and force it open. Fred swung and accusatory finger at Rox, who was sitting on her bed holding deer antlers to her chest with wide eyes. “Alright, Ms. Turner. Step away from the antlers!” Fred ordered as if she a police officer telling an armed criminal to drop his gun.

Rox scowled. “What are ya’ll—”

“Ah-ah,” Fred chided. “This is an intervention. Antlers on the bed, and take two steps towards me.”

She rolled her eyes, but did as her friends demanded.

Fred gestured to the drawers, and directed, “Lynne. Find Rox a cute outfit to go out in.”

Lynne saluted before continuing to raid Rox’s dresser.

“I don’t want to go out,” Rox stated.

“Tough shit. You are,” Fred remarked. “Get undressed.” Rox eyed the open door behind them, and Fred used her powers to close it, then gestured at Rox to get undressed. Rox did, taking off the shirt she’d been training in, and then her pants.

Lynne held up a shirt and skirt combo, nodded, then threw them at Rox, ordering, “Put these on.”

Rox did as she was told, although her expression was clear that she didn’t like being bossed around. As she pulled the clothes on, she huffed, “Where are you planning on taking me?”

“We’re going clubbing,” Fred answered plainly. “Cut off age is eighteen, so there’s no reason we shouldn’t indulge.”

Rox grimaced. “I’m not much of a clubber.”

“Yeah, but you’re with us,” Fred stated, coming at her now with makeup. “And we’re having a girls’ night.”

Rox stiffened her mouth as she said, “I don’t think clubbing is a good idea right now.”

“It’s the perfect idea,” Lynne stated.

“Yeah,” Fred said with a hard nod. “See, you’re in this mopey gutter because of a guy. And the best way to get out of that gutter, and over _him_ , is to realize how fun life is without him, and maybe getting under another guy.”

Rox pouted, a moment Fred seized to apply lipstick. With all this frequent training, Fred was getting quicker at painting on makeup tastefully. “I just don’t think that’s right.”

“But it does work,” Fred stated.

“Does it, thought?”

“Stop your nay-saying,” Lynne huffed, handing her some shoes, which Rox took begrudgingly. Lynne crossed her arms and continued, “We all know you’ve been in a funk the past week. Fred took off a day of work for it. So, we’re doing this.”

Rox sighed. “Fine.” She finished getting ready as Lynne and Fred shot victorious grins at each other.

Then they pulled her outside where Ronnie was waiting with Kiba at her said. Ronnie was wearing a sequin dress and black strappy sandals with Kiba opposite her with a leather jacket and tight jeans. He had, for once, left Akamaru at home. “We ready to go?” Ronnie asked, looping her arm with Kiba’s.

Fred presented Rox with pride as she said, “She’s ready!”

They made their way down to the club, Kiba and Ronnie being annoyingly couple-y as they walked on. Fred and Lynne refused to let Kiba and Ronnie’s cherubic splendor put a damper on Rox’s mood, laughing and joking with her the whole way. Slowly and steadily, they were getting their Roxanne Turner back from the dark depths she’d been squaloring in.

As they reached the club, Nirvana, in downtown Konoha. Fred remarked glibly, “If we see Kurt Cobain, I’m out.” The girls laughed, leaving Kiba confused, with Ronnie promising to explain it later.

Rox grabbed Lynne’s hand before they walked in, looking sheepish at the psychic. “I’m sorry,” she finally said. “It was a lot easier to be mad at you than it was myself.”

Lynne frowned at her confused. “What do you have to be mad at yourself for?”

Rox scoffed, “You must’ve really stopped reading our minds.”

“I told you,” Lynne stated. “It’s difficult, but I’m trying to let you all have your privacy.”

Rox sighed. “I did something stupid. And I thought things would change because of it. But they didn’t,” she explained. “So, I’ve just been mad at everything.”

Lynne smiled, “Well, why do you think we brought you here?”

Rox eyed her worriedly, and unsure what she was asking.

Lynne grabbed her hand as she dragged her back in with the group. “To dance your demons out. It’s the best solution.”

They started their night with drinks, which Fred made sure Rox wasn’t skimping on. They each had margaritas, since there was a deal going that night on dollar margaritas for women. Ronnie and Kiba hopped on the dance floor before their drinks were done. And once the first round was drunk, Fred and Lynne pulled Rox out on the dance floor, clearing a space for them to start the Cancan before breaking apart into the booty drop. The next song, Fred remarked had a similar beat to Beyonce’s ‘Single Ladies.’ Before long, they were performing the familiar steps they’d learned from their sleepovers the past year.

They went back to their table, howling from the fun they’d had on the floor. Fred lifted her hand to order another round of drinks when a platter of margarita’s was immediately delivered to them. Fred frowned her confusion at the waiter who pointed at another table. “The gentleman over there paid for this round.”

They looked over to see a man with stark silver hair and light brown eyes holding his own drink up at them in cheers. Lynne breathed airily, “Oh, he’s pretty.” This earned a laugh from both Fred and Rox. They then grabbed their glasses, holding them aloft to him in cheers, then sipped.

Rox shook her head. “This is crazy. I never do things like this.”

“Maybe you should,” Fred commented, taking another sip. She put her drink down, then looked at Rox pointedly. “So, are you going to tell us what happened that’s got you all in a twist?”

Rox narrowed her eyes at her, then looked at Lynne briefly before answering, “If you answer who helped you cause that Earthquake.”

Fred’s eyebrows shot up as Lynne chuckled, “Guess you’ve gotta’ tell her.”

Rox looked at Lynne surprised. “You know!?”

Lynne shrugged. “I didn’t say I was perfect at keeping all ya’ll’s thoughts out.”

Rox looked at Fred offended. “I thought I was your best friend.”

“She read my mind,” Fred defended.

“Then I demand to know,” Rox huffed, crossing her arms. “Who was it?”

Fred rolled her eyes underneath her eyelids. “Kankuro.”

“KANKURO!?!?!” Rox yelped.

Lynne howled with laughter. “I know. Right?”

“Hey,” Fred snapped at her friends, “he is a lot more attractive than you’d think. And he happens to be amazing in bed.”

“Kankuro,” Rox more stated clarifyingly than asked. “Mr. Puppet-man who plays with dolls.”

“Well, I guess with puppets, he’s good with his hands,” Lynne offered, still laughing. Rox laughed with her, taking another sip.

“I’m not going to take this shit,” Fred huffed, crossing her arms. “He’s a perfectly fine man. Decent in bed. Attractive. Considerate. And a good kisser, to boot.”

Lynne leaned over conspiratorially to Rox, commenting, “Maybe it’s because she doesn’t know Kankuro like we know Kankuro.”

“Maybe she _should_ ,” Rox replied, looking at Fred worriedly.

Fred rolled her eyes, knocking back another sip of margarita before pointing at Rox. “Your turn,” she demanded. “What’s had _your_ panties all twist?”

Rox took a bracing breath, fingering the base of her glass. “Well, your first suggestion about looking sexy worked.”

Fred sat straight up. “What?” she chirped.

Rox sighed. “Shuriken practice turned out to be more than shuriken practice.”

Both Fred and Lynne leaned in comically. “Go on,” they intoned together.

“Well,” she started, her eyes having an odd, far-off look, “it took me a while. But after he positioned me correctly, I got the throw right. And we made-out.” When her friends still looked at her expectantly, she reiterated, “I mean _made-out._ Heavy petting. Grinding. If we were naked, it might have been considered sex.”

Fred and Lynne shared a look, then the Earth user looked back at Rox and asked, “And then what?”

“Well, I …” Rox blushed as she admitted, “had a moment. It threw things off, and I told him I was a virgin.”

Fred and Lynne looked at her with hopeless understanding as they breathed, “Oh.”

“Yeah, he didn’t take it well,” Rox stated, clearly confused as she remembered the details as she continued, “But we left things good. I told him I enjoyed it, at least. Then the next day he was completely cold. Saying he never should have let it get so far. That he was taking advantage of me, and it would ruin our reputations, which is stupid.” She scoffed, a little bit of fury returning to her at the thought. “I’d get it if I was like twelve and he was my jonin leader. But we’re a little less than a year apart, and I’m an adult. It shouldn’t be that big of an issue.”

“That is kind of stupid,” Lynne agreed.

Fred shrugged. “I guess, since he is kind of our teacher, I can understand it. But I know several people in our class who were dating a couple of our old teachers once they turned eighteen.”

“Who?” Lynne gasped.

“Nina and Mr. Schruder from the computer lab,” Fred listed, ticking them off. “Jake and the really pretty substitute. The only one really questionable was Sheryl and Mr. Hodges.”

“Wasn’t Mr. Hodges married?” Rox asked.

Fred nodded, adding, “With two kids in middle school.” She waved her hand as she said, “The other two, the age difference was negligible. Within two to four years of us.” She frowned, as she pointed out, “You know, just by us talking about them kind of proves Shikamaru’s point. People would talk if he was dating a subordinate.”

Rox huffed. “I was his girlfriend first.”

Lynne sighed. “Sometimes life deals us crappy hands. The best thing we can do is play what we’re dealt.” Fred and Rox looked at the psychic oddly, unsure what brought about such a proverb. “For example,” Lynne started, looking down at her napkin pointedly, “Shikamaru has broken up with you, leaving you single while an attractive man comes over to ask you for a dance.”

Rox frowned at her, only to hear a man ask beside them, “Did you like the drinks?”

Fred and Rox turned, surprised to see the silver-haired fox from the other side of the room standing beside them. Up close they could see his face had a regal shape, with high cheekbones and a pointed chin. He had an easy, confident smile with perfect, white teeth.

“They were delicious,” Lynne answered for them before slurping on hers.

“I’m glad,” he laughed. He had an odd, ancient stately air about him that threw them off with his familiar manner. “I couldn’t help but notice you know your way around a dancefloor,” he complimented each of them, his gaze settling on Rox. “Would you like to dance?”

Rox was about to shake her head no, but Fred answered for her, “We’d love to. But, first we need a name.”

He gave them a small bow as he said, “Akirama Senju at your service.”

“Senju?” Lynne gasped with surprise. The comics made it seem like the Senju line would die out with Tsunade.

“And you?”

“I’m Fred,” Fred started, gesturing to herself. “That’s Rox, and that’s Lynne. Alright, let’s go.” She was already getting out of her seat, grabbing Rox’s hand.

“But, Senju?” Lynne asked clarifyingly.

“So what? Let’s dance.” Fred got them on the dancefloor and dancing again with Akirama going between the girls. But both Lynne and Fred saw he only had eyes for Rox. Against him, Rox felt a little dwarfed in comparison. He was taller than Shikamaru. She only came to Akirama’s chin, her eye-level falling somewhere on the north side of his chest.

After a while, his blonde buddy who Lynne would say looked like Legolas without the elf ears came over, saying, “Hey, we’re heading out. You coming?”

Akirama shrugged blandly, saying, “I’ll catch up with you all later.”

His friend left with a larger group. Fred frowned at his friends. “They’re not going to wait for you?”

“We’re doing a bar crawl,” he stated. “They know the next bar isn’t my favorite. I’ll just catch up with them in thirty minutes at the one after.”

“A bar crawl?” Fred asked excitedly. She looked at Lynne and Rox, wondering if they were thinking what she was thinking. Rox looked nervous, but Lynne nodded excitedly. “Can we join ya’ll?”

“Sure,” he answered. “Do you all want to go to the next bar?”

“What about Ronnie?” Rox tried.

“I’ll text her,” Fred stated, pulling out her phone. She typed expediently and hit send. “I told her to meet us outside.” She turned to Akirama and said, “Show us the way.”

The silver fox led them out of the club, telling them, “The next bar is Second Lotus. They have a specialty kombucha that can be a bit headier than normal kombuchas.”

Fred’s phone beeped, and she paused holding it up to her face. “What did Ronnie say?” Rox asked.

Fred frowned. “Busy. Winkey face. Catch ya’ll later.”

“Ew,” Lynne grumbled, matching Fred’s face.

“Is your other friend not joining us?” Akirama asked.

“No,” Fred and Lynne answered together. Rox looked dismayed at that. Fred waved it off, saying, “She brought her boyfriend on our girl’s night, and it looks like they’re hooking up. So, Second Lotus?”

He pointed down the street towards another area rather well-lit with people pouring out of it. The neon of the light showed a Lotus flower losing its petal, casting the street in a pink glow. It was about three blocks down, so they started walking.

“So, Akirama,” Fred asked, shooting Rox a coaching look. “What do you do?”

“I’m a Konoha ninja,” he answered plainly.

“You said you were a Senju earlier, right?” Lynne asked, looking at him carefully. He nodded vaguely. “Any relation to Lady Tsunade or the first Hokage?”

He sighed. “Distant. I’m descended from the second Hokage, Tobirama Senju. So, the First would be my great great … great uncle?”

“Interesting,” Lynne breathed.

“What about you all. I didn’t get your clan names, or are you all from a place like Suna?” he asked.

“Oh, we’re not part of any well-known clans anywhere,” Lynne stated, gesturing to them. “Fred’s a Buchanan. Rox is a Turner. And I’m a Belfoco.”

He shook his head. “None of those rings a bell.”

Fred snorted. “Good pun,” she said, shooting a finger gun at him.

He looked confused at first, then realized his wording and laughed. “Sorry,” he breathed. “I’ve been drinking.”

“Haven’t we all,” Lynne sighed, raising her hands to the sky as if pulling the energy of the night into herself through her outstretched hands. She swayed drunkenly, with Fred trying to steady her, but not well. He noted Rox walked along quietly.

“So, none of you are ninja, then?” Akirama asked.

“We’re training to be,” Lynne answered.

He frowned, looking at them confused as he asked, “Aren’t you all a little old to be in the Academy.”

“Didn’t stop Kakashi enrolling us,” Fred chirped. “But, technically, I’m also a bartender down at the Nomu Ki Bar.”

“The Nomu Ki?” he asked, wide eyed.

“You know it?”

“Yeah. It’s the bar we’re going to after this one,” he stated.

Fred made a face, then said, “Then I think after this one, we’ll have to duck out. If Yuri sees me, she’ll expect me to work.”

“Then after this one, I’ll walk you all home,” Akirama offered.

Lynne grinned at him. “Wow. Such a gentleman.”

They arrived at the new bar, and Akirama’s group of friends welcomed them with open arms, one guy exclaiming, “I thought you wanted to meet us at Nomu Ki.” The one with dark hair and smiling, light blue eyes.

“I brought my new friends here,” Akirama replied, grabbing his hand and bumping their chests together. “Plus, they can’t go to Nomu Ki, so I’ll see them home after this.”

His friends eyed the new girls, and the one with dark shaggy hair and skeptical gaze asked, “Do your new friends have names?”

“Yes, this is Fred Buchanan, Lynne Belfoco, and Rox Turner,” Akirama introduced, pointing each of them out. “Fred, Lynne, Rox, this is Sora Shimura, Hideo Senju,” he interrupted himself as he added, “another cousin. And lastly Kobe Yamanaka.”

Sora was the skeptical one with shaggy, dark brown hair and russet brown eyes. His face was more an oval shape, in comparison to Akirama’s diamond shape, with a wider chin and Romanesque nose. He was the shortest of the group, by only an inch. He wore all black. Black t-shirt, black belt, black pants, black shoes.

Hideo resembled his cousin in the face shape, but that was it. He had light, baby-blue eyes and dark brown hair cut in a similarly shaggy manner as his cousin. He also had an easy, joking smile, whereas Akirama had a cool smoldering look. They were also rather similar in height, with Hideo likely only a half inch to an inch shorter. They dressed similarly too. Hideo wore a white tunic tied with a gray-blue obi and black pants, where Akirama wore a royal blue shirt tucked into a lazily tied black obi at his hips, and black pants with ninja boots.

Finally, Kobe looked incredibly like the beloved wood elf, with silky, long blond hair past his shoulders; deep-set, pale blue-green eyes; fair skin; and an unreadable smile on cupid’s bow lips. He was also the tallest of the group, easily being well over six feet. He even wore green and brown like the famed elf. Well, a green jacket over a white t-shirt, and brown pants tucked into ninja boots.

Each of the men gave a bow as they greeted them. Hideo waved them towards the bar, stating, “We started with a round of shots. The first one is called the Black Dahlia.” This earned strange looks from Fred, Lynne and Rox as Hideo explained, “Black Rum, Rose Gin, and Dark grape juice. Shaken, with sugar on the rim,” pointing at their shots as the bartender finished pouring them. He gestured to the bartender for four more, and the bartender nodded, getting to making the other three.

Rox shot the others a nervous look while Lynne joked to Fred quietly, “Hope it doesn’t mean dying brutally under mysterious circumstance.”

Their drinks were placed in front of them and the men grabbed theirs holding them up expectantly. Fred grabbed hers first, and held it up towards her friends. Lynne grabbed hers, but Rox looked at it skeptically. Fred waited a moment for Rox to grab hers, but with Rox’s minor headshake, Fred sighed loudly, downing her shot, leaving the men wide-eyed as she grabbed Rox’s shot and turned to them. “Cheers.” Then downed the second. The men followed her suit in wonder. She let out a satisfied, “Ah,” once the second was down. Then pointed to the semi-vacant floor, and said, “Time to dance.”

Hideo and Sora were quick to follow, shooting each other competitive glares as they joined her on the floor. Lynne finished her shot, then shook her head, saying, “I’m ready to dance.” She then joined Fred on the dance floor with both Hideo and Sora moving to make room for her.

Kobe looked at the group on the floor, then at Akirama and Rox, and said a small, awkward, “Whelp…” before joining the group on the floor.

Akirama eyed Rox carefully, then gestured to the bartender, calling out, “Two waters.” Rox looked at him wide-eyed, clearly surprised he didn’t order her another drink. He stated plainly, “You don’t want to be drinking tonight. Do you?”

Rox brushed off the observation, stating, “I don’t like getting wasted. It’s not my idea of fun.”

Akirama gave an understanding nod. “Me neither.”

Rox eyed him strangely. “I thought you said you were drunk earlier.”

He shrugged. “Two beers and two shots is technically drunk. However, I’m nowhere near as far gone as our friends.” He pointed to both Sora and Hideo glaring at each other as they gyrated around Fred, oblivious to it all, with Lynne and Kobe dancing trying to make it more of a circle.

She frowned at him. “Then, why did you invite us along?”

He looked at her, his eyes connecting with hers intensely. “I wanted to talk to you. Get to know you.”

“Me?”

He nodded, passing her one of the waters the bartender just handed them. “I saw something when you were dancing. Something familiar.” She scoffed at him skeptically. He placed his water down and asked, “Ms. Turner. Have you ever heard the saying, ‘The eyes are the windows to the soul?’”

She laughed. “Yeah.”

“Well, I’ve never seen anyone with my exact eye-color,” he stated, leaning in closely. “Except you. Brown, but red in some lights.” She gulped at that description. He shrugged, stating, “I figured that was worth looking into.”

She rolled her eyes, sipping her water. “I could just be related to you,” she said glibly. She knew it wasn’t true. There was no way in Hell it was. But he didn’t know that.

He shook his head. “No, the Senju clan is pretty well know, and documented.” She started shaking her head at his statement, and he put his hand on her shoulder, stopping her as he said, “Even our bastards are well documented. Especially with the whole Hashirama cell bullshit started in that last war.”

Rox was looking at him wide-eyed, unsure what the Hell he was talking about. _Hashirama cells?_

He shot her a weird smile as if he read her mind. “What I mean to say is I know you’re not a relative. Which means your eyes are particularly curious to me. So, I have to know. Who are you, Rox Turner?”

She smirked, leaning easily on the bar. “Are you trying to insinuate I’m your soulmate?”

He placed his hand over hers as he said, “I think you’re someone worth knowing.”

Rox briefly looked down at his hand, but he didn’t move it. She didn’t remove hers either. His hand was soft, and if she was honest, his words would have usually had an effect on her if she wasn’t still heartbroken over Shikamaru. Her eyes connected with his, and he stepped towards her, looking at her in a way that would surely melt any other woman. Time seemed to ebb away as he looked at her, so close she could feel his breath puffing on her skin. He was leaning in, so close to sweeping her lips to his. And a part of her brain told her to let him.

There was only one word that could break that moment.

“Shikamaru!”

She looked up in the direction the name was said, seeing Chouji and Naruto sitting in a booth, waving their hands over the face of one shadow ninja whose eyes couldn’t leave Rox’s form. Rox’s gaze connected with his, and she saw one thing in his eyes. Betrayal.

She cleared her throat, saying, “I have to go.”

She tried to make a clean getaway, but Akirama was followed her out, saying, “Wait!”

Apparently, Fred and Lynne saw her storm out, and came running out. “Rox!”

Rox just ran. Ran as fast as she could. As fast as her feet could carry her. All the way home.

*~*~*

This week had trudged on longer than most, in Cordi’s opinion. Gaara had gone on two dates. Cordi was paid extra for staying late to cover for him. She made sure beforehand. So, while Gaara did whatever he did on his dates, Cordi tried hard not to think about it, she was back in his office with his sand clone for company as she did paperwork. She’d begun to build an odd relationship with the sand clone in her head. In her head, whenever she presented an idea, the Gaara clone would call her a queen, and tell her he should delegate all his serious problems to her. Suna would be the much better for it. It was easy, because the Gaara clone didn’t backtalk her with facts and logic like, “That’s not how Suna works.” Personally, she thought it definitely should.

She also called him an ignorant asshole whenever she could. The clone, not actual Gaara. He was less receptive to her suggestions. However, his sand clone was a dead, wide-eyed mannequin, unless the Kazekage was actually in charge of it for the moment. So, she could pretend the conversations went as she imagined.

“Gaara, this medical list is shit. Why isn’t Keiko’s group compiling the list, then sending it to us?”

**“My God, Cordi. You are a genius. Why didn’t I think of that?”**

“Because, running a country requires a different type of brain power.”

**“I’ll reorganize it immediately. Surely, it will save several hours of paperwork.”**

“Hundreds by my calculations.”

**“Creative and mathematical? A queen among advisors. I am not worthy of your assistance.”**

“Don’t be silly. I love working with you.”

**“I love working with you too…”**

That’s usually where the fantasies stopped, because Cordi knew he was never the type to say that.

At least real Gaara had yet to interrupt her play-acting for his clone. That would be beyond awkward.

She paused, shooting a look at Gaara, wondering if he had similar fantasies in his head about working with her. Was she more submissive? Understanding about how ridiculous some of the steps mandated for his role were? Or was she just as bombastic as usual, just he was able win in his fantasies.

He looked up tiredly, catching her gaze and frowning. “Do you have a question?” he asked.

She covered herself by rubbing her eyes, and stretching her neck before asking, “Yeah, what time is it?”

Gaara looked at his clock on the far wall, and answered, “Seven thirty.”

“Jesus,” Cordi huffed, rolling her neck to get a good pop out, and throwing her arms out to stretch with groan. “We need to eat dinner,” she stated, standing up. “I know you have no problem forgoing your needs. But if I eat the Latin-X foods Suna likes to serve late, then I get heartburn, and it’s a whole thing.” Temari was out on a basic mission for the next few days, and Kankuro was likely out for another night of debauchery, Cordi figured. After two weeks in Suna, Cordi got a good estimate of the Sand siblings homeward habits. Gaara worked to death. Kankuro partied hard. And Temari tried to be the glue between their schedules.

She walked over to Gaara’s desk, opening one of the drawers where she stored the menus for future reference.

There were many things Gaara prided himself on, like his control of his emotions. What he didn’t seem to have control of, though, was where his eyes tended to settle when Cordi leaned over his shoulder, just next to him. He’d keep his face straight the whole time, but his eyes seemed to be linked to his basal brain rather than the brains higher functions. He blamed it on being a man.

There were many aspects of Cordi’s constant presence that were perpetual nuisances. But the sight of her chest was pleasant and stirring. What was the phrase the Legendary Sannin, Jeriya, used in his books? _Heaving bosom._ It definitely applied to Cordelia Turner.

As Cordi pulled the menus out, still leaning over his desk, they heard his door open. Gaara tore his gaze away from Cordelia’s assets to their new visitor only to see Matsuri with an oddly pursed face. “Matsuri,” he said easily with a smile. “What brings you here?” The fact that they hadn’t scheduled a date tonight, even though she was leaving for a mission in the Cloud tomorrow wasn’t lost on him.

She was dressed casually compared to most of their dates. She wore a teal t-shirt tucked into a black skirt that went half-way down her calf. She looked innocent and comfortable. The opposite of Cordi who looked as if she was most comfortable in form-fitting clothes. And nothing about her looked innocent.

Matsuri shot a look at Cordi, who stood straight next to Gaara, holding the menus awkwardly between her fingers.

“I figured we could chat over take-out like old times,” she offered, holding up her bag of food, all looking neatly packed. “Since I’m going to be gone for a few weeks.”

“Right,” Gaara breathed.

Matsuri gestured to Cordi, sounding a little apologetic as she said, “Sorry, I forgot to account for your assistant.”

Gaara narrowed his gaze at her skeptically, realizing she hadn’t “forgotten.” She was trying to manipulate a secret date. He turned to Cordi wordlessly.

The fire user just looked between them awkwardly, then said, “Oh, it’s alright. I’m actually heading out.” She bent back over to drop the menus back in their drawer, and Gaara barely contained the quick glance at her chest again, covering it with a smile as she popped back up saying, “Yeah,” as she walked towards the door, jutting her thumb over shoulder as she added, “I have some studying to do for that … uh … blood test tomorrow. And it’s pretty early, so I gotta’ go to bed soon anyway…” She was rambling as she inched around Matsuri. She gave them a two-fingered salute as she said, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

As Cordi disappeared from view, Matsuri shot a pursed look at Gaara. “What?” he asked blankly.

She shook her head. “Nothing,” she answered, shutting the door behind her as she walked forward. She walked around his desk, and planted a kiss on his lips. He felt her tongue dart forward, but expecting it this time, he pursed his lips. She pulled away with an odd look before plastering on a smile and handing him his meal, then pulled Cordi’s chair to where she wanted it, and they began to eat in moderate silence. Only chatting about menial things. Her excitement for her mission to the Cloud. It was an easy mission. Her team was delivering a scroll to the Raikage’s office. Her team would be offered a cushy hotel room for a few days, then bring the scroll back to Suna.

Gaara mentioned the current peace times had made things like missions between the five great nations rather simple, but trying to negotiate with several of the smaller nations was still proving to be difficult. The sudden rise of independent ninja had become problematic, and still made things dangerous, which was why only chunin and jonin level ninja were being allowed to travel outside the Wind. He joked about his siblings being a good example, when Kankuro wasn’t at Dunescape or whatever club.

From there, their discussion devolved to strategical what ifs. Gaara found playing these scenarios fun. They were good exercise for thinking on one’s feet without exerting anything physical.

She gestured to his empty platter, and asked, “Can I clear that away?”

He nodded, gesturing for her to take it.

She put it in her paper bag with her finished platter, then took it to the trashcan in the breakroom. As she walked back in, dusting her hands off. Gaara began to watch her, curiously worried as he noticed her hand hover over the handle as she shut the door, and he heard the unmistakable locking sound.

“Matsuri?”

She turned back to look at him, a nervous smile playing on her face. “Last time one of us went away for two weeks, things between us were unsure. Would you agree?”

“We’re fine now,” Gaara stated, a little confused.

“Yes,” Matsuri chuckled, before chewing her bottom lip. She’d taken several steps closer to him, and was now rounding his desk. He was still seated, and he wasn’t sure if he should have stood at some point. The power dynamic seemed to be off. “What I mean is, I don’t want there to ever be any more confusion between us.”

“Ok.”

She was standing over him now as she said, “I want to show you how much you mean to me.”

Gaara could feel his heart pounding, because he wasn’t sure what this meant between them. Then she knelt before him, and he was even more confused.

She placed a tentative hand on his knee, rubbing the inside of his thigh with her thumb as she asked, “Will you let me show you?”

He stared at her blankly, but nodded, unsure what exactly she was referring to. She smiled, and his heart calmed a little, until her hand inched up his leg, and alarm bells went off again. “Matsuri,” he started.

“Sh,” she directed, putting a silencing finger to lips as her other hand found his crotch, and felt for his member, which grew under the attention. He watched with wide eyes as her smile curled seductively as the finger on her lip dropped to the fasteners on his pants, making quick work of them. Her fingers dipped into his pants, coaxing his member out, and he gasped at the touch, his hand darting out to grab the desk for stability as her hand pumped him. “Tonight, I take you places you’ve never dreamed.”

He felt an odd chuckle escape his throat, because he had dreamt of these places. Just not her hands on him. Not her lips.

He felt her tongue brush its head, and his head snapped down to look at her as she swirled her tongue around it. His skin felt like it was squirming underneath as his heart pounded and his stomach squeezed. He watched as she put his member in her mouth, easing him in further and further. He couldn’t watch her, feeling all of his prior perceptions of his student obliterate as she pulled back, sucking gently with it.

His fingers gripped their rests tightly as he grunted a small, “Damn.” He felt her chuckle around his member as she slid him back in. He felt his eyes flutter close at the sensations. It was wet and warm … and pleasant maybe.

With his eyes closed to focus on the sensation, he started feeling the beginning of the climb to release, if only he had a spark to ignite his lust. Almost on cue, his mind’s eye conjured the visions of Cordi on her knees, her breasts pressed together as she sucked on his member. Her full lips causing the perfect puckering suction. And her dark eyes full of angry passion. He could grab her hair and pull it, holding her head in the perfect position as he fucked her face. He began panting at the idea, magnified by the feel of lips on his member.

He lifted a hand to press on Not-Cordelia’s head to push her down. Wanting to be so far in her he heard her gag.

He stopped himself as he remembered Matsuri was the woman on him now. Not some fantasy he could take his frustrations out on. Not a dream that his sand couldn’t hurt. _I shouldn’t be thinking of another woman right now,_ he reprimanded himself. He forced his eyes open and looking at the woman who was giving herself to him.

He saw a tear trickle down her cheek, and he realized immediately he didn’t want this. His lust for Cordelia would not bolster him into pressuring Matsuri into the punishing lust he needed for release. “Matsuri, stop,” he ordered, feeling himself shrinking away.

She did as he said, but her hand still stroked him as she looked at him curiously. “What’s wrong?”

He shook his head, pulling his member from her grasp and tucking it back away in his pants. He didn’t have the words, so he settled for the slow string that came to him. “I’m … not ready … not comfortable … to do that … with you …”

He offered his hand to help her stand up, but she slapped it away. The action hurt, but he realized his rescinding her gift probably also hurt. She wiped her tears away licking her lips angrily before glaring at the floor. “What is it then?” she asked.

“I don’t know—”

“Bullshit!” she hissed. “That’s bullshit, Gaara.”

Gaara pursed his lips, looking away. He couldn’t tell her the real reason was residual violent tendencies when his lust was stirred. That would just terrify her. So, he said nothing.

Matsuri scoffed with a knowing nod. “I don’t know what I was thinking.” She sniffled as she turned to walk out of his office.

He didn’t stop her.

Instead, he scratched his head and sighed. He looked around his office, then decided he wanted a shower, then to sleep. He turned off the lights and locked up, then made his way to the penthouse. As he opened the door, he realized Cordi probably thought she had the apartment to herself since Kankuro was out at the club and Temari was on a mission. He heard the music playing, and Cordi’s voice singing with the melody mixed with the sound of a running shower. He sighed, realizing he’d have to wait, or run the risk of getting a suddenly cold shower.

As he walked down the hallway, he noticed the bathroom door was wide open, and he realized that she did indeed think she was home alone for a while. He chanced a look inside out of basal curiosity, knowing the glass doors would hide nothing. Her eyes were closed as she washed her hair, filling it with suds that dripped down her body. Her dancing to her music jostled her breasts so wonderfully, Gaara felt himself getting hard again from the momentary glance.

He quickly eschewed himself to his room, her lilting voice following him down the hallway. He shut his door quietly before kicking off his shoes, and getting undressed. He sat on his bed, down to his boxers as he realized he’d have to wait thirty minutes to get a fully warm shower tonight. He leaned back, eyes fluttering closed to the new image filtering his fantasies as he began to stroke his member. He bit his hand to stop himself moaning Cordi’s name as he came. He was still hard after, and he realized he had a problem.

*~*~*

It was another eventful night at the Dunescape Club in Suna, and Kankuro was in rare form tonight. Both of his siblings were so no nonsense that he had to be just as serious around them, which was ninety percent of the time. But the other ten percent, when he wasn’t being a ninja, or council member, or the older brother/guard dog to the Kazekage, he liked to cut loose. And when he cut loose, shit tended to get crazy, which was exactly how he liked it. So far, he’d convinced two women into giving his friends jello shots from their belly buttons, dirty danced with a few other skilled twerkers, and already one girl flashed the entire club for a free drink. So things were going great. He was out with the guys tonight because it was Jello Shot Night, which meant the girls got crazy, which meant the guys were twice as likely to get laid.

One of his friends sucked the jello shot from another girl’s belly button, getting another round of cheers when one of his friends gave him a sharp jab to the ribs. “The fuck, Hiro?” Kankuro hissed, rubbing his side.

Hiro pointed to the front door, yelling over the pounding music, “It’s your girl, Matsuri.”

Kankuro looked up, and sure enough, there was the small ash blonde girl standing by the door, looking sad as her eyes searched the club. He realized she was probably looking for him. She always seemed to know where to find him.

“Here,” Hiro offered, holding out a small packaged condom. “I brought extras for tonight just in case, but I had to dig into my older stash, so …” he trailed of, still holding out the package.

Kankuro glared at it, then at him. “I don’t think that’s why she’s here,” he growled.

“Didn’t you say the past couple times she was sad, and found you in a bar, she spread those pretty legs wide open --?”

“Shut up,” Kankuro interrupted, snatching the condom from his friend’s fingertips and pocketing it. “And it was just the last two times,” Kankuro corrected defensively.

Hiro nodded with a knowing smirk and a shrug. “Yeah. The first time, you just finger-banged her in the bathroom.”

Kankuro rolled his eyes, stepping away from his friends, fighting his way through the crowd to get to Matsuri. “Matsuri?” he called out as he stepped out of the foray.

“Kankuro,” she breathed, clearly relieved to find him.

“What are you doing here?” he asked. But as soon as he asked it, she ran to him, clutching his shirt and crying into his chest. He pulled his arms around her, hugging her close, and he let out a small sigh. “What did he do this time?” She shook her head as she sobbed into his chest. He let out a small, disappointed huff, then grabbed her by the hand. “Come on.”

She followed his lead as he asked the bartender for one of the private rooms upstairs, usually reserved for parties. When the bartender shot him an expectant look, Kankuro reached in his pocket, procuring a hundred-dollar bill. The bartender took it, handing him a key with a blue tag on it. “Upstairs, to the left. You’re in the Blue Room.”

Quickly, he led her to the staircase behind the bar, and up the stairs, then left down the hall, and opened the door with the sign “The Blue Room.” The room was nice. It had black carpet, and was lit solely by blue lights lining the walls. It was small, cozy. It had two white leather couches, and a black coffee table with a bucket of ice and a champagne bottle in the center. There was sound proofing along the corners of the walls, so the room only throbbed from the pounding music below, and the noise wasn’t nearly as deafening. Kankuro shut the black door behind them, locking it so they weren’t interrupted.

“So, what happened,” he asked, seeing her step around the room with her arms crossed.

She shook her head. “I think I’m going crazy.”

“I doubt it,” Kankuro breathed. He stuck his hands in his pockets, one fingering the rubber his friend just handed him downstairs, thinking about what he said. The last time he and Matsuri were alone in a club, she said her boyfriend found her repulsive, and they ended up screwing so he could prove she wasn’t. The time before that, she said that she thought he wanted to break up. And the time before that, she was frustrated because he was refusing to kiss her. He didn’t know who this guy was, but every time Matsuri came to him crying about this guy, he got the strongest urge to hunt him down, punch him in the balls, and tell him he didn’t know what he was screwing up. He’d tell Gaara about the jerk, but with Matsuri being his student, his little brother could get a bit overprotective. “Tell me what happened.”

“He’s got some hot new … coworker who’s all boobs and butt,” Matsuri began her rant. “And she dresses like she knows it, the slut. And when I went to go see him this afternoon, I found her practically sitting on his desk, her boobs just right in his face. And sure, they acted all innocent, but when she sashed out with some bullshit excuse, I swear I saw him watching her ass.”

“Unbelievable,” Kankuro growled, shaking his head. Seriously. He was going to punch this man in the dick.

She sniffled, continuing to pace as she ranted, “I tried to pretend I didn’t see it. I tried to kiss him again, but we were back to that not-quite-kissing bullshit.”

Kankuro frowned. She’d mentioned it before when she said she thought he found her repulsive, but he still didn’t understand what it meant. “What exactly is that?”

She scowled. “It’s when he does this,” she huffed, stepping over to him and putting her lips to his. She held them there. Kankuro raised his eyebrows when she didn’t move for three seconds.

“Uhm,” he murmured against her lips.

She pulled away with an annoyed expression. “Awkward, isn’t it?” She let out a sigh, then huffed bitterly, “I try to show him how to kiss properly, and he acts like I attacked him and tells me to go home. I bet if it was her, he’d be more than happy to have her tongue down his throat.” She closed her eyes tightly, fighting back tears as she put her head in her hands. “What’s so wrong with _me_? Am I not kissable? Am I not fuckable? Is it because I don’t have boobs for days, or a super effeminate figure?”

Kankuro stood, placing his hands on her shoulders to calm her down before she flew off completely in a tizzy. He made sure she was looking him in the eyes when he said as clearly as possible, “You are beautiful. It’s his loss that he doesn’t see that.” Her teary gaze searched his, and she knew he was being sincere. He saw her gaze flick to his lips for a second, and he knew what she was craving. A proper kiss. And he’d give it to her.

He leaned down, sweeping her lips into a kiss, as he pulled her to him. He licked her lips for entrance, and she granted it immediately, inviting his tongue into her mouth. He licked and tasted her, and she let out a moan as his tongue massaged hers. As with every one of her kisses, he felt himself beginning to harden, and he guided her back to one of the sofas, pinning her under him as he pressed and sucked on her. His hand traveled down, resting on her hips as he pressed his groin towards hers, teasing her with the friction, and eliciting another moan. He moved his mouth to her jaw, his tongue swirling kisses as he made a trail down her neck. “You are kissable as fuck,” he breathed, between each kiss as he trailed down to her collar bone. “You are fuckable as fuck,” he growled, grinding into her again, making sure she could feel his hardened dick through her underwear. Her skirt was already pooled at her hips, given her position. His hand snaked up her shirt, until it found that perfect mound of flesh, braless as always. Her breasts were small enough she never had to wear one, which he loved. She moaned as he kneaded one of her boobs, his thumb brushing over her nipple, feeling it perk up under his ministrations. “And big breasts are so overrated.”

She ran her fingers through his hair, knocking his hood off his head as he nibbled on her collar bone, and he palmed her breast again. And she shifted her hips. She was ready. His hand trailed down, dipping beneath her underwear as his fingers slid into their favorite little cave. “Kankuro,” she gasped, bucking against him. He dipped one finger in, then two, as his other hand pushed her shirt all the way up so he could kiss and suck on her other neglected nipple. He stuck a third finger in her, and she shuddered around him.

“If your boyfriend can’t be with you like this,” he breathed around mouthfuls of breast, “then he’s not worth the heartache.”

“Uh-huh,” she moaned as his fingers flexed and curled inside her. He smiled, as he felt how her womanhood clenched around his fingers, and he could tell she was going to come soon. He always was good with his fingers.

He pulled them out, and she let out a whimper. His lips smacked as he pulled them off her to hover over her. Her face was twisted in pleasure until her eyes opened. Her black eyes connecting with his. “You should break up with him,” Kankuro whispered.

Something flashed in her eyes, and she pushed him to sit up, then she stood in front of him kicking off her shoes and reaching up her skirt to pull off her underwear with impressive speed. Before he could adjust his position, she straddled his legs, grinding her wet essence against his tenting pants. Her expression was dark and sultry as she pulled her shirt off over her head. Kankuro stared with wide-eyed boyish wonder. No matter how many times he’d seen a woman’s bare chest, it was always a marvel to see.

She held him to her by his neck, her fingers dipping into the hair at the base of his skull. She planted a soul searing kiss on his lips, then said, “I think you should fuck me.”

He smiled. He loved a bossy lady. “Yes ma’am.” She captured him in another soul searing kiss, and he positioned her under him again. Quickly, he undressed as best he could, remembering to grab the condom from his pocket. He opened it up, and his heart dropped as he looked at it. Hiro’s old stash indeed. This thing was dry and stiff as paper. He squinted, checking the expiration date, and, yup, expired last year. He sighed, starting to unroll the condom onto his stiff member, uncomfortable from the dusty feel of the old lubrication. Even an old condom was better than none at all. As he tried to pull it into place, the condom split on the tip. His heart dropped through his stomach. “Fuck,” he breathed.

“Something wrong?” Matsuri asked, propping herself up.

Immediately, he realized if he said he couldn’t go through with having sex, she’d be devastated, given the circumstances. It was the whole reason she was here. Her boyfriend may not fuck her, but Kankuro would! “No,” he said quickly, pulling off the condom and dropping it. It wasn’t useful at all anymore anyway. And it wasn’t like either of them could see all that well in this dark blue lighting. He smiled and maneuvered himself into position. “Everything’s perfect,” he breathed, kissing her deeply as he lined himself up, his tip poking at her entrance.

_It’s fine,_ he reasoned, pushing himself into her and listening to her gasp, _I can pull out._ He’d never gone raw before, with the exception of Winifred Buchanan, and his eyes almost rolled to the back of his head at the sensation as he remembered it. Matsuri was different. Smaller, tighter. And more dangerous. Winifred, while also raw, wasn’t nearly as risky as this was. It was almost unbearably exquisite, feeling her so tight around him, and the thought he was risking everything. _I know myself well enough,_ he convinced himself as he began to set his pace.

But pumping into her had never felt this good. Was she always this tight? This silky smooth? There was something intoxicating about breaking the rules. Like the high from riding a risk heightened every feeling, magnifying his pleasure a thousand times over. Like life itself was a gamble, and meant to be lived on the edge. Who knew that pure ecstasy came at the price of treading disaster? He braced his hand on the arm rest above her head, gripping it tightly as he did his best to steer his thoughts away from how amazing she felt. Doing his best to ignore that he was deeper in her than he ever had been, and she was screaming from the ecstasy he was giving her.

 _She’s enjoying this more than usual,_ he noted, and a smile found its way to his lips and he pounded into her a little harder, deeper, faster. It didn’t take long. She was almost there, he could feel it. Just a little further. He could survive that. He pushed her over that cliff, and she clamped onto him as a strangled cry escaped her throat. The sensation was so sudden and so amazing he didn’t brace himself properly. He tried to slow, but she ground against him as her walls pulsed and got impossibly tighter. That was it. There was no stopping it. “Fuck,” he gasped with a shuddering breath as he came in her, slamming into her deep.

He froze, his mind blank as his dick pumped out the last of his seed deep into her. As he finished, the reality of what happened hit him, and his mind began to panic. _Shit. Shitshit._

Matsuri clenched and unclenched around him, breathing in deep heaving gasps. “Wow,” she breathed, a silly smile playing on her face.

Wordlessly, he slipped out of her, and quickly moved to get dressed, snatching the old condom and its wrapper off the ground. “Where are you going?” she asked, sounding a little lost at seeing how quickly he threw on his clothes, leaving her half naked on the couch alone.

“I-uh… I have to go toss the condom,” he said awkwardly. Meanwhile the back of his mind was screaming chaotically, _YOU IDIOT! YOU FUCKING MORON!!!_ He scratched at his nose, adding, “I’ll come right back. Do you, uhm …” he trailed off. He couldn’t believe how awkward he was being right now. “Uhm, do you need me to walk you home?”

Matsuri shook her head, and with a small smile, replied, “No. Yukata, Mikoshi and I set out for a mission in the Land of Clouds.” She stood up, a little wobbly, and he knew it was from how hard he went. Usually he had better control of himself. Also, usually he was wearing a condom. He mentally berated himself again for not realizing earlier to accommodate for how different it felt. Matsuri grabbed her shirt, and pulled it on as she continued, “I’m staying at Yukata’s house tonight, so we can get an early start.”

“How long will you be gone?” Kankuro asked.

She shrugged as she put on her sandals. “It’s what, six or seven days travel there, then back is fifteen or sixteen days. The mission itself looks like it’s going to take a few days. So two and a half weeks at the earliest.” She stood, walking over to him. She smiled bittersweetly at him. “Thank you,” she breathed. “You don’t know how much I needed that.”

Kankuro gave a blank nod, then instinctually leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. “You stay safe. Alright?”

She smiled at his earnest gaze. “I’ll do my best.” Then she left.

Kankuro let out a long breath, his mouth pursed in an “o” then stepped out, snagging the champagne as he did, because he did spend a hundred dollars on the room. He walked over to a large trashcan, and tossed the wasted contraceptive in it. The old condom sat on the top of the pile, laughing at him. **_I’m fine. I can pull out._** _What a moron?_ He looked up, realizing he’d fucked up pretty bad, and now there was nothing left to do except wait. … And maybe …

He shook his head, not sure why he was so afraid. He screwed up, sure. But what were the chances of anything happening on the first time unprotected? One in a million? He was fine. He took a calming breath, returning to the party as he reminded himself, “One slip up won’t hurt anybody.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Yeah, this chapter is one of the longest I’ve ever written. It’s 41 pages single-spaced. I probably should have split it up, but there were too many parallels across each scene to break it up. We’re roughly about halfway through Part I. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, because this had several scenes I’ve been excited to write or get to for months.
> 
> Please remember to Like, Review, and Follow.


	14. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen: The Path to a Woman’s Heart**

Gaara had a problem. A deep, unsolvable problem. At least unsolvable by him. That wasn’t an issue he had often, which made this problem particularly tricky.

Cordelia sat on the sofa in his office using an end table as her desk. She sat with her butt poked out towards him as her right arm leaned on the arm of the sofa, her right hand up as she twirled her pen again in such a well-practiced, elegant manner. Her tongue stuck out between her teeth and lower lip before she sucked it back in, chewing on her lower lip instead. Her pen twirling slowed as she took a heaving breath in, drawing his gaze to her large breasts that heaved with her. He felt his lips part a little as his jaw relaxed a little. He imagined nestling his face in the small crack where her breasts met, her soft skin against his cheeks as he breathed in her scent. _Does she smell of orange there, or mint? Or is it that other exquisite smell?_ He remembered a story Kankuro had told him one drunken evening about one of his escapades where the woman practically smothered him, almost suffocating him as he described it, with her breasts. He thought of Cordi doing that to him, and it seemed heavenly. He saw her stretch her back, her left hand adjusting the underwire of her bra, and he had the uncomfortable urge to help her out of it.

She dropped her pencil on her table and wiped dust out of her eye before looking over at him blandly. As her dark eyes found his, and her gaze shifted from bored to curious, Gaara realized he was caught staring, and he blinked hard as he took a quick bracing breath as he looked at the door. He mentally berated himself for his sloppiness, trying to brush it off as he scratched his neck before looking back down at his paperwork. _What was I doing again?_ he wondered as he frowned at the page.

“Are you ok?” she asked

“Hm?” He looked at her blankly, as if he had no recollection of staring at her for … _shit,_ he didn’t even know how long for.

“You were staring.”

“Was I?”

She scoffed as she straightened her posture. “Yeah, you were.”

He tightened his lips as he mumbled a small, “Hm,” pretending to move onto a new paragraph with his pen.

He could feel her eyes still on him, and he chanced another glance at her. She was smiling at him with a weird perplexed, but entertained, expression. “Did you need something?” she asked.

Mentally he cursed himself as he realized she wouldn’t let something like this go. She was naturally confrontational, unlike him. “No, I…” he started, although his brain was floundering for an excuse. He looked at her for something to blame it on, finding her cleavage again. _No, I was just imagining suffocating myself in your boobs. Ugh, don’t say that._ But there was nothing on that wall or in that corner he could blame. He cleared his throat as he mumbled along, “I just … uhm … stray thoughts.” He shook his head as he realized he was rambling. “I wasn’t looking anywhere particular.”

“Oh, yeah,” she sighed, nodding knowingly. “I do that too.” She perked up, smiling amiably at him now as she asked, “So, what about?”

“I’m sorry?”

“What were you thinking about?”

He looked at her blankly. Or guiltily, he wasn’t sure. “Nothing,” he blurted.

She looked at him perplexed again. “Nothing?”

He gave a mild shrug, turning back to his paperwork.

“That was some pretty intense _nothing_ ,” she commented, crossing her arms under her breasts, further accentuating her impressive chest.

He pursed his lips.

She let out a light laughing sigh. “Alright then. Keep your secrets.”

“Is there something I can do for you?” he almost snapped back churlishly.

“You could be honest with me,” she offered pointedly.

He looked away annoyedly and went back to his paperwork.

There was silence between them for a moment, before he saw in his periphery her grab the paper she was working on between her fingertips. “Actually,” she started as she stood, walking over to him. She placed the page in front of him on the desk, leaning on one hand on his desk while her other braced herself with the back of his chair. This position put her not only so incredibly close to him that he could smell the soaps she used in her shower this morning, but also propped her breasts an inch or two away from his face. His heart pounded as he chanced a look with only his eyes, seeing how perfectly they hung, held secure by a black bra. His heart thundered in his chest with either excitement or anticipation. Surely he was blushing. He could feel himself hardening a bit as he watched them jostle as she moved to point at something on the page.

“The doctor I think made a mistake on the dates. This ninja had an open appendectomy after a rupture. Now, I remember a girl from church missed her whole mission trip because her appendix ruptured the night before, and her recovery was six weeks to make sure the infection was completely gone.”

He ignored her whole story, having learned early on in their work relationship that she always remembered some story that seemed to apply when it didn’t. “What’s your point?”

“Gaara,” she scoffed as if he wasn’t paying attention. He hated when she did that. “The doctor only scheduled one week approved medical leave of duty.”

He shook his head. “Yes?”

“I just said a rupture takes six weeks to recover from.”

“Maybe in your world,” he stated in a bored tone. “My spinal surgery recovery time was only two weeks.”

“Spinal surgery?” she asked, surprised and now looking at him worried.

He grumbled to himself, realizing he’d dodged that part of the story when she guessed he’d “tweaked” his back. Now he’d have to explain it. “Several discs in my back needed to be replaced due to the constant strain of …”

“Of the gourd. Geez,” she filled in. But as she said it, she dipped her torso, brushing her breast against his shoulder, shooting jolts of excitement through him, finding a home in his member. “Sorry,” she breathed, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder where her breast brushed against him.

He shook his head as if to tell her to forget it, but the words couldn’t come out as his brain seized with excitement. Her gentle hand only threw more electric anticipation into his body, and he blushed hard that he couldn’t get his thoughts under control.

She frowned at him, and asked, “Are you alright? You’re really red.” Before he could even comment, she pressed her hand to his forehead as if checking his temperature, just like Yashamaru would when he was sick as a child. He was certain he was going to die. “You feel a little warm, too,” she added as the back of her fingers pressed against his cheek.

“I need to pee,” he blurted, unsure why his addled brain chose that excuse to run with. But it startled her enough to let him push back and extricate himself from her probing.

“O-ok,” she stuttered, watching him walk towards his door. “So, that ninja’s only thirteen. I still think I should double check the date. Can I use your phone?”

He waved her off as he exited his office to seek the solace of his bedroom. He made his way to the penthouse quickly, then towards the back where the bedrooms were. As he strode the back hallway, he saw Cordi’s bedroom door was still open.

On an impulse, he walked in.

Gaara had a problem. He’d freely admit it. To himself, not out-loud. He wasn’t crazy. At least he didn’t think so. Maybe his current behavior was indicative that he was.

He just wanted to understand. Who was she? Why did talking to her unsettle him, while at the same time seem so easy? Why were his fantasies currently so fixated on her? What about her made her so different from other women?

There was probably an easy answer to those questions, but his instinct said it was something more. Something that connected it all. He just didn’t know what.

First, he was hit with the scent that was Cordelia Turner. Having been a jinchuriki, he had a better sense of smell than most people. Heightened senses was one of the perks of having a demon sealed within oneself, along with faster recovery, larger chakra stores, and the demon’s own special ability. So, he doubted others were able to differentiate that the orange and mint scent was just the soap she used. This smell he couldn’t identify, but it was something intrinsically her that under-lied all her other scents. It was a perfect balance between sweet, but salty, and refreshing. It was comforting, like coming home from a mission, and … intoxicating.

He looked around her room and determined she was messy. His room was pristine by comparison. Her bed wasn’t made. She’d been living in Suna for almost three weeks now, and she was still living out of her suitcase. Her clothes were strewn about in two piles. One hidden behind the dresser, and the other by the wardrobe, flowing out of her suitcase.

While messy, she apparently had a system. He could appreciate that. Maybe she just needed a laundry hamper.

Her towel from her morning shower hung on the wardrobe knob. Her dresser now sported several framed photos that he looked at. Several of the photos were more recent. One where she and her friend, Ronnie if he wasn’t mistaken, wore black robes and strange flat black caps with tassels, with her other three friends that traveled from the other world smiling with them.

Another of the five girls making weird faces at the camera, with Cordi and Ronnie clutching each other in fake terror with their legs hiked around each other; while Fred held a fist up with her pointer and pinky fingers extended, and her tongue out; while Rox was pointing at Ronnie’s leg around Cordi’s waist, and laughing too hard to look; and Lynne facepalming while shooting the camera a look that asked, “Are you seeing this?” The ridiculousness of the photo caused a smile to drift to his face.

He moved to the next photo where she stood with her parents and siblings he recognized from the video, even though they looked much younger, except Rox and Cordi looked almost the same as now. Maybe that was a testament to the amount of time between the videos. They were all dressed fancifully outside what looked like a strange temple. Cordi’s green dress clung to her curves before falling away at her hips. She was beautiful.

Then he saw a photo of her much younger, possibly eleven or twelve, holding a dog that looked like a husky struck with dwarfism, although he wasn’t sure of the breed. It didn’t have a tail. She held him in her lap as she smiled at the camera as the dog smiled too. He could tell it was a real smile, but something in her eyes looked a little dead. He recognized the eyes immediately of the depth of sorrow and loneliness he saw in Naruto when they were younger, when he actually looked. It was hard to believe the girl in this photo was the same girl in the first picture with such a broad smile that reached her eyes in the black robes.

He sat down on her bed, feeling where she slept every night the past several weeks. He looked down and in a flash saw her sleeping there, snuggled comfortably without any anxiety keeping her up. That was when he saw the fifth pillow on the double bed. He frowned, knowing this room only had the four. He grabbed it, seeing it was a pale green that didn’t match any of the sheets his family owned. He held it to his face, smelling it deeply. It was the sweet smell that lingered in the room. The essence of Cordi.

He hugged it to him, closing his eyes as let the scent permeate his senses, imagining Cordi was in his arms, pressing her body against his. While his member had died down, thought to death as he’d pondered her photos, this pillow, this smell brought it all back. His hips shifted slightly, almost autonomously, against the pillow as he buried his nose in the pillow, losing himself in the scent. _This is insane. **I** am insane, _some small, self-aware part of his brain yelled.

Quickly, he put the pillow down and forcibly took himself out of her room. That little jaunt didn’t give him any answers, just more questions. And now he was harder than before.

He’d long since learned the best way to stem these fantasies was to momentarily indulge them. The effect of a cold shower didn’t last as long as actually releasing himself into the madness. Especially when he’d have to return to his office and see _her_ there, sitting perfectly innocent and unaware of his damnable lust for her.

He quickly undressed as he walked towards his bathroom, locking his door. This time, he had the necessary supplies as he gripped himself over the toilet, remembering how perfectly her breasts jiggled at him in their black confines. It quickly evolved to her sitting in his lap, bouncing on his member, causing her breasts to jiggle for him like in the shower the other day. He went rather quickly with a gasping groan. It didn’t take him long to clean up, and he cursed his voyeuristic tendencies she brought out in him the whole time.

 _What is wrong with me?_ he wondered as he washed his hands. He was dating another girl who he couldn’t touch without overthinking. Yet he was lusting after his secretary like Kankuro or his buddies. Before Cordi, he seldom felt seized by this form of lust. Now, the littlest things she did set him off, and he could barely help himself. He’d stare at her like a starved man stared at a forbidden meal. Practically drooling with desire. He hated it.

He washed his face with cold water, then decided to take a few minutes to tend his cacti to clear his mind before going back down to his office. Once he felt he was mentally suitable to return, he put his white Kazekage robe back on over his maroon outfit, and made his way down to his office. As he entered, he saw Cordi now sitting in his chair as she scowled and clenched his phone in her hands.

“Look,” she hissed, “I’m just trying to get ahold of Dr. Ishimaru to verify a date. I am not questioning your skills as a nurse. I’m just trying to make sure the Kazekage’s office isn’t signing some kid’s death warrant because of a clerical error.” Gaara’s heart sank as he realized she had taken a small thing like a date being wrong, and blown it completely out of proportion. He rubbed his head as he realized he’d have to reel her in, which in his experience was nearly impossible. “Now, if you could patch me through to the doctor I asked for, and stop giving me the run around to records keeping, I’ll be out of your hair.” There was a moment of silence, and then she visibly relaxed. “Thank you. Yes. I’ll hold.”

She rolled her eyes as she held the phone away from her as she glared at it. “’I’ll just go grab the doctor,’” she said, clearly mocking the nurse she’d been talking to. “Wasn’t so fucking hard, now was it!?”

Gaara inhaled bracingly, then asked, “Did you verbally abuse everyone in the hospital?”

She held up a reprimanding finger as she said, “First off, I’ve called twice, because they hung up on me the first time. That time I went through the operator, was sent to records, then to the nurses’ station, then back to records, where I was hung up on. Then they sent me back to records, then the nurses’ station, and the lady there then tried to send me back to records when I flipped my shit.”

Gaara opened his mouth to say something, but apparently someone came back on the line as Cordi pressed the phone back to her ear as she asked, “Yes? Dr. Ishimaru. Thank you for taking the call. It’ll only be a minute. We got a medical form for a genin named Yoshiko who had an open appendectomy a few days ago. Before I processed it, I noticed that the recovery date seemed abnormally early, and thought I would follow up.” There was silence again, then she said, “Yes, his form says his leave is up on the thirty-first, so Friday.” A smile formed on her face as she asked, “So it is early? What date should it be?” She grabbed a pen as she marked it out, and clarified, “August 28th? Thank you so much. You have a wonderful day.”

She hung up the phone as she looked at him victoriously. “I was right. The form was a month off.”

“Congratulations,” Gaara said tiredly. He gestured towards her as he asked, “May I have my seat back?”

She looked at him sheepishly, then breathed a small, “Oh!” as she stood up, and gestured to the chair as if to say, “all yours.”

“Thanks,” he mumbled as he went to sit back down. The chair was still warm as he pushed himself in. He noticed she was still standing, looking at the form proudly. “What?”

She gestured to the form as she said, “I just saved a life. It’s pretty exciting.”

He pursed his lips, debating with himself if he should tell her it would have been a thousand percent easier if she just called Councilwoman Keiko, who answers to his office directly, and that he’s called multiple times when those clerical errors crop up. But seeing her so proud of herself for such a small feat, even though the boy probably would have been fine due to several other checks before being assigned a mission, he decided it was better to reward it. “Yes. Good job,” he said with a warm smile.

She positively beamed at him. He felt his heart skip a beat at her smile, and had to look away. But he was acutely aware of her sitting down, adjusting herself before filing the form away. He blinked hard, trying to focus on his work, forcing his hand to put his pen on the page and his eyes to read the words on the page. He tried his best to curb his impulses to steal another glance at her, because he couldn’t trust himself.

He used to pride himself on his control. Control of his thoughts and emotions. Control of his actions. Control of his mind and body, so attune he seemed to most people impenetrable.

With her, he had no control. Not over himself or his urges. His mouth would say stupid, rambling things and blunder his words around her. His thoughts frequently diverted into the perverted, which was never an issue before. He could barely control his own body when she came near. And he definitely had no control over her.

Gaara had a problem. And her name was Cordelia Turner.

*~*~*

It was night like any other. Rox sat on her bed in something comfy, studying history of the Ninja world. History wasn’t her strong suit at home, and now she had to learn an entire world’s alternate history? It was enough to drive someone crazy. She sat with maybe a hundred or so flash cards on her bed with different names, dates, and locations she’d have to remember for their test at the end of the week.

It was imperative that she pass. Not because she was one of those gunner students obsessed with grades. No. She had something to prove. To herself. To Konoha. And most importantly, to Shikamaru.

She would be more than just some pretty kunoichi. That she could prove that she didn’t need Shikamaru’s charity to pass as a ninja. That she, in her own right, would be an amazing ninja.

Maybe then Shikamaru would forget the dishonor they’d stir into each other’s reputations. If she was good enough, no one would care. At least that was the logic of the situation as she understood it. And if she could beat any stigma away from her and Shikamaru being together, she would pursue it endlessly.

It all started with acing this test.

She stared helplessly at a card’s definition, desperately trying to remember it’s term, and coming up with nothing. She was doing dismally. But she had three days to know them inside and out, and she would use them to the best of her advantage.

A knock on her door broke her conversation, and she dropped the card with a huff. “Who is it?” she called, trying and failing not to sound curt. When there wasn’t an answer, she frowned. “Hello?” she called again.

Again, no answer.

She let out a long sigh, puffing her cheeks a little as she stood and strode to the door. It was her door that was knocked on. She was sure of it.

She swung the door open, somewhat aggressively, she regretted and growled, “Look—” only to stop short, seeing no one there. She dipped her head out and looked down both sides of the hallway, seeing no one.

“What the --?” she murmured, moving to step onto the balcony hallway, only for her foot to tap something glass. She knew it was glass from the “Ting” it made against her toe.

Carefully she stepped back, looking at her doormat and seeing a beautiful, large bouquet of flowers standing in a curved glass vase. Not just any flowers. Irises.

Not many people knew the significance of such a flower to Roxanne Turner. They were her favorites for many reasons. Not simply for their smell or color, which they were the most beautiful shade of purple, and smelled of heaven. Nor was it the fact that in floral language it meant wisdom, hope, trust, and valor. The Fleur-de-Lis was Rox’s favorite pattern back home. Partially because it was all over her mother’s family crest, which was printed in their bonus room, framed next to her father’s which was lousy with clovers. She always felt more connected to that crest, since her mother’s maiden name, Hart, was her middle name. The other part was because she loved French culture and history. France was one of her bucket list destinations. And when she learned the fleur-de-lis was and iris, it solidified to her that it was the best flower.

She knelt down, wondering who would have sent her something so wonderful. As she pulled her nose down, taking in their sweet perfume, she saw a note tucked into one of the stems. Gingerly, she pulled it out, pulling the card fervently out of the envelope once it was free from the vase.

She flipped it over to the signed side, and read:

_My heart finds her in twilight._

_Souls entwined by fate’s wicked string._

_Hope springs anew again._

_Her eyes burn into mine._

_Then gone like shadows into the night._

It was a beautiful poem, she’d admit. But she wasn’t sure who’d written it. So, it couldn’t be him. She flipped it back to the other side to see if there was a florist seal, but saw nothing. In all likeliness, they probably came from Yamanaka flowers. But other than that, there was no hint.

She was about to inspect the vase when she heard on of her friends’ door’s opening, so she quickly ducked inside with the vase, shutting her door quietly. If any of them saw her with such a beautiful array of flowers, they’d pounce on her with speculations and pressure her to respond in some such way to solve this new big mystery.

But that wasn’t Rox.

Instead, she placed them on her counter, chewing her lip as she twirled the card in her hands as she admired them. There was something comforting about a secret admirer. They filled her with hope. Maybe they were from Shikamaru. Maybe they were from someone better.

She half danced back to her bed of notes and flashcards, unable to wipe the smile from her face. She placed the card on her dresser, for the future, just to remember the feeling. Not just the wondering warm fuzzies, but the curious excitement of a mystery all to herself. Her own secret admirer.

*~*~*

Kiba kissed Ronnie good morning, and she woke with a smile. Before her eyes could flutter open, she felt the bed shift as Kiba sprung up, running to his attached bathroom. She stretched in the warm sheets, slowly waking as she sat up, holding the sheets to her body as she watched Kiba brush his teeth stark naked. She appreciated the view, his buns tight, back chiseled, and brown hair a wild mess.

Ronnie whipped the sheets off her as she decided to waltz around his room, taking a good look at his bedroom’s pictures sitting on his dresser. There was a picture of him and young Team 8, with Hinata in the front, Shino opposite him, and Kurenai laughing behind them. Next to that was a picture of Team 8, likely right after the war with the Akatsuki. They were grown, in uniform attire rather than their usual mission gear. Kurenai stood in front with a new baby, with the rest of Team 8 standing behind her.

She spun around and asked, “When are you going to introduce me to Kurenai?”

Kiba frowned, then spit out his toothpaste. “Sorry?”

Ronnie shrugged, sidling up her naked form against his. “You know. When do I get to meet your sensei?”

He laughed, rinsing his toothbrush. “Usually, girls are more anxious to meet my mother or sister.”

“Well, I’ve already met your mother,” Ronnie stated. “And she liked me, … for the most part.”

Kiba barked another laugh, replying snarkily, “Yeah, except for the boinking me part.”

Ronnie shot him a playful grimace. “Boinking? Really? Couldn’t think of a better word?”

He encircled her in his arms as he smirked. “What would you prefer? Fucking?” he asked, leaning into her, his breath puffing on her ear as he added, “And other things.” He licked at her earlobe, and a shiver of arousal shuddered through her. Then he tongued the deep red hickey he’d made on her neck last night.

She sighed, then moved his head so she could kiss him. The air between them was electric as he nibbled on her lip and let out a possessive growl. She pressed her chest against his as he helped her sit on his sink, wrapping her legs around his waist. She felt his member hardening as his hands moved down to tightly grip her hips.

“Five times last night not good enough for you?” he grunted against her lips.

“What can I say? I’m insatiable,” she answered, seizing his lips again.

He picked her up before moving to pin her against the door frame, skewering her to the hilt of his dick. He started with a steady rhythm, enjoying the feel of her fisting his hair as he moved in her, eliciting the most beautiful gasps and moans. Soon, she was clutching him tightly like a life preserver, riding her first wave of pleasure as she howled. He felt her walls tightening around him, and it did crazy things to his head and heart.

He pulled out of her, dragging her back to the bed, and positioning her on her stomach, her legs dangling over the side. He nudge her knees apart as he positioned his member at her entrance before ramming in again, burying himself deep in her essence. He rode her quick and hard. He palmed one of her ass cheeks, his grip almost bruising, leaving white finger prints on her skin. He felt the pressure in his throat and his loins first, building fast as he panted, going deeper than ever before. Then the pressure burst and he came in her deep, coating her walls with his seed, like every time before. He’d never known such a blissful orgasm before meeting Ronnie.

Before her, he’d always worn a condom, and the sensation without one was amazing, and he daily thanked the tech in her world that allowed him to experience it without worry.

She kept grinding against him as he slowed, whining for him to continue. He did, ignoring his tenderness, knowing it was only temporary, and soon he’d be ready to coat her walls again in a few minutes. She was backing onto him now, using the bed as leverage, grinding her hips between him and his mattress. Soon, she was finding her bliss again, and this time he was going with her.

He breathed hard as his movements stilled. “Ronnie,” he whispered like a prayer. He leaned over her, pulling her mouth to his as he admitted, “You are … I don’t have words.”

She laughed as she bit his lower lip gently. “So are you,” she stated.

He pulled away to look at her, seeing her flushed shining face. “I think I’m in love with you,” he said, not really thinking about his words. The minute he said it, he regretted it. It was way too soon. They’d only been together three weeks. It was insane.

“What?” Ronnie asked.

“Nothing,” he answered quickly, chewing on his cheek and pulling out of her before quickly getting dressed.

“No. What did you say?” Ronnie asked.

He bent over after his pants were on, grabbing her dress off the floor. “You should get dressed.” He dropped the wadded dress in her hands then quickly grabbed his black mission t-shirt, putting it on with surprising speed. He grabbed his jacket before rushing back towards her, saying, “I have a mission, so I’ve got to go,” giving her a quick kiss. “You’ll have to see yourself out. I’ll come find you when I get back.”

Ronnie was understandably confused by the sudden turn. She was still dripping with his seed, and he was sprinting out the door, acting incredibly weird. It wasn’t like this was the first night they’d spent the night together. Maybe the first time at the Inuzuka compound, because his family was out on missions apparently.

She huffed, standing up as she realized it was probably his confession. She’d heard him, but she wanted him to have the chance to say it and mean it. But if he wasn’t ready, it didn’t mean much to her. He’d get there eventually if that was where things were headed between them. But she wasn’t one to call it quits because one of them was more invested in the relationship than the other.

Most likely, he was fighting with his pride. Some people felt like admitting their feelings was a weakness.

If that was the case, she had two options. She could bite the bullet and say she loved him the next time she saw him. She’d be lying. She wasn’t there yet. Sure she liked him a lot, and the sex was great, but that wasn’t necessarily love. But it would solve the awkward tension. Or she could ignore he ever said it. That seemed the best option, because she wouldn’t be lying. That was never good in a relationship.

She got dressed, resolving to ignore the admission. She put on her shoes, then waltzed out his bedroom door, down the stairs to the foyer.

She was just about to leave the house when she heard a woman call out, “Leaving so soon?”

Ronnie felt fear seize her insides, and she couldn’t breathe from the surprise. She walked back towards the kitchen where Tsume sat at the kitchen table, reading her newspaper with a steaming cup of tea.

As Ronnie entered the room, Tsume pursed her lips, folding her newspaper in front of her as she grumbled, “Seriously, can’t the newspaper do anything better than print bullshit stories?”

Ronnie didn’t answer.

Tsume’s gaze shifted to her, feeling oddly like she was holding a kunai under Ronnie’s throat with just a look. She then turned to her tea, thumbing her mug as she said, “It sounded like you and my son had an eventful evening last night.”

Ronnie’s fear pitted in her stomach and sank with her shame. “I’m so sorry,” she said, moving to the other side of the table. “We thought you were out on a mission.”

“I’m sure you did, with how loud you two were,” Tsume remarked with a sneering smirk. Ronnie blushed hard. Tsume set her jaw before grumbling, “At least with the other girl, my son had the decency to check if I’d gotten home early before bringing her here.”

Ronnie’s heart stopped. _Other girl?_ “Ehm, what other girl?” Ronnie asked, trying her hardest to sound indifferent.

Tsume looked a little too pleased at that. “So he hasn’t told you about Tamaki?”

Ronnie took a bracing breath, then said as evenly as she could, “Uh, no. He has not.”

Tsume looked away a little bitter and disappointed, but not surprised. She licked her lips, then asked, “Ronnie, given last night’s demonstration, I feel compelled to ask, are you two being safe? Or should I be worried about becoming a grandmother.”

“I have a birth control injection. I won’t be having children for several years,” Ronnie assured her. Tsume frowned at that explanation, and Ronnie pointed to her arm as she added, “Their 99.9% effective after the first month, and last three to five years.”

Tsume let out a relieved sigh. “Good.” She looked off as she said, “You’re a bright girl. I’d hate for you to get stuck to Kiba for life because of a mistake.”

Ronnie frowned.

Tsume could see the water user was confused by her tone, and waved it off, adding, “Don’t get me wrong. I love my son. But when it comes to relationships, he’s too much like his good-for-nothing father.” She shook her head as she explained, “I hate to air dirty laundry, but it’s impossible not to see him making the same steps his father did. He’d make lofty, idealist goals that he knew were pipedreams. He’d fantasize about a girl until a relationship became real, and then he’d bolt.” She let out a bitter bark of a laugh as she added, “Hell, when I found out I was pregnant with Hana, he practically disappeared for two months. Granted, we were seventeen, so I forgave him when he came back and asked to marry me. That one was my fault.” She shook her head realizing she’d gotten off topic talking about her husband. “Anyway he split when Kiba started showing a proficiency as a dog trainer, and he realized that his son was going to be working the vet with me and Hana when he was old enough.”

Ronnie couldn’t help but butt in. “What if Kiba doesn’t want to take over the vet?”

Tsume barked out another laugh. “That has nothing to do with it. And we aren’t talking about Kiba’s future. We’re talking about yours.”

“I think I have a say in my own future,” Ronnie remarked bruskly.

Tsume nodded as she stood, here hands in front of her to quiet Ronnie. “You do. I’m just advising you,” she said, dropping a hand on Ronnie’s shoulder. “If you want a happy future, don’t hitch your wagon to my son.” Ronnie frowned again. What kind of woman would say these things about her own son? “I love my son. But I know he’ll never be the type of man to get serious when he needs to. And you’ll end up hurt because of it.” Tsume dropped her hand and began to walk out, adding, “Just think about it. You’ll see exactly what I’m talking about.”

Ronnie tongued her cheek as she heard Tsume walking out of the room. Still one thing wasn’t answered. “Tsume?” Ronnie called, turning around to see Kiba’s mother pause at the doorway. “Who is Tamaki?”

Tsume smirked, putting her hands in her pockets. “It’s really for Kiba to tell you. But because I like you…” She moved to grab a notepad and pencil from the counter and wrote something down. She then ripped off the page, and handed it to Ronnie. “… Why don’t you talk to her yourself?” Then she left, leaving Ronnie standing in the kitchen holding a piece of paper dumbly.

Ronnie looked at it, wondering if it was something she should look into. She rammed it in her pockets, resolving to think on it later. She wasn’t going to let that ruin her Thursday. She had to get to school anyway.

*~*~*

Lynne, Rox and Fred sat in their classroom, waiting for their special class session. Since Kakashi informed Iruka and Mr. Fujaku, the academy’s principal, about the girls’ special abilities and restrictions, the principal and Iruka decided they should test the girls on what they did know to get a better idea on how to teach them.

Mr. Fujaku agreed with Iruka’s assessment on changing their curriculum for the girls, knowing Kakashi’s test for these girls would be different than the other students. That and they were getting specialty ninja training from Shikamaru and Hinata. So, chakra training was taken out. Math and science were as well, since the girls proved they knew up to calculus in math, and already knew sciences like physics, chemistry, and geology. The biology part was a little iffy, given the nature of chakra allowing some animals sentience and incredible size, but the general concepts were still there. Where their worlds were truly different were their history and cultural stories. So that was what they learned.

Mr. Fujaku assigned them a new teacher, so Iruka could continue teaching this year’s crop of students. A woman named Suzume who usually taught a few specialty classes for kunoichi took his post. She was what Lynne would describe as an “odd duck.” She had thick glasses and dark frizzy hair, sprouting with a few frizzy grays. Lynne had mentally read from Hinata learning about their new teaching that Suzume’s usual class was to teach kunoichi how to blend into other villages. Just the topic seemed a little bizarre. It probably came in handy, but Lynne kind of wondered, how they didn’t know how to act normal in their own world anyway.

But what made Suzume stand out as odd was her odd fluctuations between being unnervingly interested in a topic and being sneeringly indifferent. If Lynne had to describe her personality, it was adjusting her glasses with one finger and actually saying, “Tch.” Suzume was _that_ person. Honestly, Lynne could have sworn that even in anime, most people lost that type of personality by the time they were faced with the hard facts of reality.

For whatever reason, Suzume was late this morning. So the girls sat in the quiet classroom, just waiting. Well, the girls minus one.

“Where the hell is Ronnie?” Fred asked, looking annoyedly at the door.

Rox, who had been doodling in her notebook, answered absently, “Didn’t she have another date with Kiba last night?”

“Yeah, but … she wasn’t in her dorm this morning,” Fred stated frustratedly. “I thought she’d be here.”

Lynne barked out a laugh. “Why would she be here?”

“Because, we have school,” Fred answered as if it were obvious.

Lynne scoffed. “So?”

“What do you mean so?” Fred huffed. “It was a school night. You don’t stay out on a school night.” Rox made a face as she traced the lightning bolt on the page.

“And who exactly is holding that rule up?” Lynne asked with a smirk.

“What?” Fred asked, mentally jarred by the question.

“She means without your mom here telling her not to, who’s stopping her,” Rox clarified as she started her shading.

Fred looked indignant at the question. “Well, I will,” Fred answered pointedly.

“You’ll just piss her off,” Lynne laughed. “She’s eighteen. She doesn’t need you to be her mom. Just her sister.” She shrugged as she added, “And if she gets in trouble, that’s on her.”

Fred scowled, slouching down in her chair as she thought Lynne’s words over. There was some merit to them. That didn’t mean she liked it. They’d been in this world a little over a month now, and the permanence of their situation hadn’t gotten any more comfortable for her. She knew that there were days each of them ached for home. They each just hid it from each other, because their pain didn’t help their situation.

“I have a better question,” Lynne sighed, adjusting in her chair. “You’ve had my computer for almost a week now. How far are you in the show?”

Fred pursed her lips, then answered. “I dunno’. Episode seventeen, I think.”

“SEVENTEEN!?” Lynne half gasped, half shrieked.

“Yeah, Sasuke just fell, fighting that girl with the ice powers,” Fred stated.

“Boy,” Rox corrected.

“Huh?”

“Haku’s a boy,” Rox stated.

Fred made a slightly horrified expression before commenting, “Well that makes her relationship with Zabuza a lot more questionable.”

“His,” Lynne corrected. Then she huffed, sitting up and crossing her arms. “But why are you only on episode seventeen. I thought you’d be halfway through the chunin exams by now!”

“Well, let’s see,” Fred started facetiously, “I work weekends from four until three am, so I’m catching up on sleep most of Saturday and Sunday, which is only just barely catching up since I’m still behind from Thursday and Friday nights. Then Monday through Friday, I have school until twelve thirty, and then training until three thirty, sometimes as late as four or five. And most other times, I’m hanging with you two. So…” she trailed off with a “whatcha’ gonna’ do?” shrug.

It wasn’t that she hated her schedule, with the exception of the school part, of course. The four nights she worked the bar were grueling, but she also had started to love it. She was good at mixing the drinks and handling the patrons. On top of that, she was making bank in tips plus a decent salary from Yuki. Soon, she’d be able to afford her own place, with furniture she actually liked.

So what if she didn’t have a lot of free-time?

Lynne sighed. “You haven’t even met the rest of the main cast yet, and you’re so close. That’s just frustrating.”

Fred rolled her eyes at Lynne’s melodramatic tone. “Well, this first arc is boring as shit. And I have come up with serious questions. Like if the Mist ninja have to kill their entire class to pass their Academy exam, then how are they considered one of the Ninja world super powers? They have one student graduating per year. And given our history lessons, the ninja villages are max seventy years old now. Konoha was started in April 1939. Kiri, which is the Mist, right?” She looked to her friends for verification, who both nodded yes. “Well, Kiri, according to our history book, was the youngest of the villages, starting in 1941. So, if they only allow one student to graduate per year, they should only have sixty-eight ninja. Actually less, since ya’ll mentioned there were four great ninja wars. There’s no way they didn’t have any casualties.”

“Was there a question?” Lynne asked, looking between Fred and Rox oddly.

Fred was sitting up now, very animatedly as she said, “Yeah. Here’s the question. If your country army has less than sixty-eight people, how can you argue your position as a cultural super power? Especially when the other ninja villages are churning out nine to twelve ninja a year. Mathematically, Konoha would have 738, roughly, to their 68. And in that position, I don’t care how tough your fighters are, you’re getting swamped in a battle. That’s just illogical.”

Both Lynne and Rox stared at her with confused awe. “She did all that math?” Lynne whispered to Rox.

“I’m just surprised she opened a textbook,” Rox replied in a similar decibel.

“Another thing,” Fred howled, shaking a finger above her head. “With only sixty-eight people, how do they have a _functioning_ economy? And how do they have enough people to procreate? Logically speaking, most of them are probably related, right?” She shook her head with a deep, disgusted sigh. “I dunno’. The more I put logical thought to it, the more this place turns into a fucking nightmare.”

Lynne pursed her lips in a thoughtful expression, then said, “Then don’t put logical thought to it. Just watch the show.”

“I have to,” Fred groused as she held up the history textbook, “because it’s fucking real now.”

“Language,” their teach called shrilly as she entered the classroom. Suzume looked around the room with a measuring gaze, her lips pursed tightly together, or at least they looked tightly pursed. Suzume had a habit of painting her lips like the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland. The bright redness of the lipstick didn’t help the illusion either. She opened her mouth and barely got out, “Where-?” before being interrupted by the door.

Ronnie walked in, wearing the same dress she’d worn on her date last night. It looked like it had been wrinkled, and she looked as if she’d just rolled out of bed. She bypassed Fred and Rox, refusing to look at them before sitting next to Lynne and asking if she could borrow a pen and paper for class.

Lynne looked at her shocked for a moment, then nodded blankly, ripping a page from her notebook and offering one of her pencils. As Ronnie started getting comfortable for note-taking, and assuming her serious face, Lynne looked at her with a worried expression that both Fred and Rox picked up on.

Suzume looked at the girls sternly, before deciding to ignore Ronnie’s unkempt look, tardiness, and clear lack of preparedness. “Let’s begin.”

Fred shot Lynne a look, urging for details on Ronnie as Suzume turned around, writing something on the board. Lynne shook her head that she wouldn’t divulge anything then, but Fred could tell from her expression that something had happened with Kiba. Lynne only got that look in her eye when she suspected someone was cheating.

Fred scowled, turning back ahead, rolling the pencil between her fingertips. _If he is cheating on Ronnie, I’ll feed him to his dog,_ she vowed before putting her own pen to paper, and taking Suzume’s notes.

*~*~*

The Council meeting that day had been boring. Gaara walked out with Cordi yawning next to him, and stretching her arms high, raising her shirt enough to show a little midriff, which she then adjusted. He noted several men from the Council looking over at her, and Gaara shot them warning looks. It was because her style, in comparison to normal Suna fashion, was considered rather indecent. They’d argued about it before when Gaara suggested she wear more conservative clothes, like the robes most councilmembers wore. Especially when they had a Council meeting. She’d been given the robes for the meetings, but instead of wearing them, she only wore the poncho part of the robes over her shoulders and chest, and her dirty blonde hair in a high ponytail.

“Jeez, it’s only three?” she huffed, rolling her neck as she closed her notebook. “When I watched the show, it seemed like ninety percent cool fights and mystery. Not miles of paperwork, endless meetings and pointless bureaucracy.”

“Sorry to disappoint,” Kankuro sighed boredly, his hands tucked in his pockets on the other side of Gaara. “Our world is rather mundane.”

“To be fair, I didn’t think your world dealt with crazy weather like hurricanes either,” she sighed. “Usually, when anything with weather happens in the show, it’s sprinkling rain, or sunshine. Maybe snow.”

“What about Sandstorms?” Temari asked.

“They showed those only two or three times.” She stretched her shoulders again, breaking her response. “It’s ok. Just that meeting sucked the joy out of my Friday,” she grumbled, rubbing her scalp under her ponytail. “And this ponytail is giving me a headache.”

“Then why’d you wear it?” Temari asked.

“Because every time I wear it down with this freaking poncho, it gets ridiculously tangled,” Cordi groused, pulling at the poncho. “Seriously, If I ever get back to my world, I’m hunting Kishimoto down for his horrible fashion design choices for Suna.”

“Who?” Kankuro asked.

“Masashi Kishimoto,” she replied, gesturing a huge circle as she clarified, “he’s the author of all this. Essentially your god.” She kept rubbing her scalp under her ponytail, then muttered, “Maybe I should just cut it off.”

“That seems drastic,” Kankuro remarked.

“Kishimoto was the man who created all of us in _your_ world?” Temari asked clearly skeptical.

“I’m sure I’d have more questions than ‘Why the ponchos?’,” Gaara remarked blandly.

Cordi shot Gaara a look, then laughed. Gaara found himself smiling too as Kankuro and Temari joined her. The moment was nice and alleviating after the droll Council meeting. They calmed to tired silence as they made their way to the elevators. After meetings, Kankuro and Temari usually just hung out with their brother and Cordi. That changed this past week, since Cordi’s new desk was finally built in the hallway outside Gaara’s office, in front of the elevators.

They stayed quiet all the way back to Gaara’s office, and Cordi tossed her notebook boredly on her new desk, noting her inbox was empty. “Hey, Gaara?” Cordi asked, leaning against his office door as he looked over his own paperwork. “I’m all caught up. Do you need me for the rest of the afternoon?”

Gaara frowned at her, giving a noncommittal shrug as he answered, “Not particularly.”

She bobbed her head and gave a bright smile. “Great. I wanted to check on Aleera before the storm tonight. She’s been having some difficulty with her shed, so I figured I’d help.”

He gave an acquiescing nod, waving her off.

She paused before leaving, commenting, “It’s weird. I used to think ya’ll never got rain, being in the desert.”

“Well, it is monsoon season,” Kankuro commented with a shrug. “We don’t get a lot, but when we do, it’s usually around now with the tropical storms and hurricanes to the south.”

It wasn’t often the storms reached them, being so inland. But when hurricane season raged in the south of the country, it sometimes threw thunderstorms towards Suna. This was one such occurrence. Ao Nami, one of the Wind’s prominent beach villages was hit hard with a hurricane two days ago that had seemed to have some lasting power once it made landfall. That was what the meeting was predominately about. Figuring out how many ninja teams Suna would send in the hurricane’s aftermath, mainly depending on the budget the Daimyo already stipulated for such disasters. From the broadcasts, Gaara figured he might have to ask the daimyo for more money for more teams. As it were, they were mainly sending genin now, and a few chunin, to help. There wasn’t enough budget for more than a few jonin teams.

Gaara looked up at the reminder of the storm, and added, “Make sure you’re back by six. If the storm collapses before it hits us, it can make a haboob, and you don’t want to be caught in that either.”

Cordi looked at him closely, clearly trying to hold back a smile. “A what?”

“Haboob,” Gaara clarified. “It’s a type of sandstorm. Very low visibility. It can last a couple hours, especially with a storm like the one we’re expecting.” The way she pursed her lips, he could tell she found something funny about what he said. He rolled his eyes, realizing her immaturity was getting the better of her. “Just go, and be quick. Sandstorms are not fun to be caught in.”

Shortly after Cordi left, Temari dismissed herself to buy the necessary groceries for that evening and weekend. Storms like the one they were expecting usually meant staying inside for a few days while the southern storms dissipated. It was also her turn to cook that evening, and they were having chicken fajitas and Temari’s tomato and corn salad. They were also watching another of Cordi’s movies. After she finally got them to sit down and watch the movie Jurassic Park last week, and its sequel, thanks to a rather blusterous sandstorm coming off the heels of a hurricane in the south, they agreed to watch more movies that she deemed cultural staples of her world during the sandstorm season. Gaara had no doubt the storm tonight would kick up a sandstorm in its wake, so tonight they were watching something called Pirates of the Caribbean.

Kankuro looked around his office, and asked, “So how’re things going with you and Cordi?” Gaara looked up with a frown, unsure how to answer. “Usually, she’s around, so I don’t really get to ask for your personal opinion.”

“It’s ok,” Gaara sighed. “She’s a bit bossy and somewhat annoying. But we seem to work together well.”

Kankuro hummed happily, as if he’d guessed his brother’s answer. “I’ll say. It looks like your paperwork is half what it usually is.”

“And shrinking daily,” Gaara added. He furrowed his hairless eyebrows as he added quickly, “Don’t ever tell her I said that.”

“Sure,” Kankuro laughed, lounging on his couch, propping his ankle on his knee. “Don’t need it going to her head.”

“No,” Gaara chuckled, fingering his pen. He paused, looking at his pen and remembering Cordi’s habit of twirling her writing utensils when she was reading or thinking too hard to notice his gaze on her. He pressed his lips together, thinking over his answer as well as his recent fantasy issues. “Actually, I could use your input on an issue I’ve been having recently,” he started, chewing on the inside of his cheek nervously.

Kankuro eyed him curiously, but with a shrug, said, “Shoot.”

Gaara looked up, noting his door was still open, and he closed it with his sand. Kankuro watched the action even more interestedly, then turned back to his little brother who sat at his desk, his fingers interlaced as he contemplated the issue. “I …” Gaara started, mulling over his words. “I’m finding myself frequently … _lusting_ after someone I shouldn’t.”

Kankuro sat up, his expression apprehensive to a point Gaara could see his thought “ _lusting”_ had two possible meanings when it came to the younger sand brother, and either one was somewhat awkward. But Gaara had no one else to turn to for advice. He knew the question before Kankuro asked it. “Blood-lusting or –”

“Sexual … lusting,” Gaara answered awkwardly, feeling his blush creeping up his neck to his cheeks.

Kankuro’s eyes flew wide with excitement. “Who?” He sounded owl-like.

“Who it is isn’t important,” Gaara stated, trying to reign back control of the conversation.

“It’s Cordi, isn’t it?” Kankuro giggled excitedly. Gaara only answered him with an eye roll, which only made Kankuro more eager. “It is! You have a **_thing_** for Cordelia Turner.”

“I _don’t_ have a **_thing_** for Cordelia.”

“Geez, Gaara. Boinking your secretary, how cliché. What will people say?” Kankuro chortled over him.

“We are NOT--!” Gaara howled, stopping himself to reign in his temper. He took a deep breath, and let it out his nose before clarifying, “I’m not having an affair with my _assistant_. I haven’t engaged in any such physical activity with anyone.” Kankuro eyed him oddly, and he realized that wasn’t entirely true. Matsuri did try to suck on his member last week. “With the exception of my girlfriend,” he added.

Kankuro smirked at him, then said, “I’m sure your right hand will understand you fucking an actual person.”

Gaara rolled his eyes again at his brother’s crassness. “I should have talked to Baki about this,” he grumbled.

Kankuro put his hands up in surrender as he said, “Fine. No more jokes. I promise.”

Gaara looked at him skeptically, but his older brother continued to hold his hands up, and Gaara knew he meant it. Gaara sighed, then confessed, “It started with an explicit dream, I won’t go into details. I started developing these lusting fantasies based solely on those dreams of this woman. They have no bearing on reality. The woman in question is nothing like my fantasy version of her, except she might be just as experienced in the bedroom. Maybe more. I have no idea, though. Her instincts on identifying sexual relations suggests she has experience.”

Kankuro smirked. “That sounds like Cordi.” Gaara frowned at Kankuro’s addition. “Y’know, when she found me walking out of Fred’s dorm, she told me she was three for three on predicting her friends’ sexual escapades.” Gaara blushed, realizing he’d unwittingly identified his fantasy woman. Kankuro shrugged as he added, “Although, she did mention that she was a virgin. So, I’m guessing, not so much in the way of sexual experience.”

Gaara looked away, realizing he’d seriously misjudged her if that was the truth. She just dressed like she wanted men to look at her. To touch her. But she’d never been touched. Gaara didn’t know why, but that knowledge made his heart flip. “Well,” Gaara chirped, trying to go back towards his problem, and ignoring the elation of that new knowledge. It only added to his problem. “My bigger issues with these feelings is that my brain stops functioning like it should.” He ignored Kankuro’s chuckle at that addition, and continued, “I say things I don’t mean to say, and sometimes sound like a bumbling idiot. I find myself staring at her and thinking about her. Stupid things, too. Things I usually don’t trouble thinking about.”

“It sounds like you have a crush on this girl.”

“A crush?” Gaara asked. He’d been so unfamiliar with the feeling, he hadn’t noticed he’d developed one.

“A strong one, too. Especially if it’s not easily broken by her normal personality,” Kankuro summed up, nodding knowingly. He looked at Gaara carefully for any corrections. Gaara nodded, confirming his summation. Kankuro shrugged. “My solution?” he more offered than asked. “Indulge in those fantasies. Try and make them reality.”

“You mean have sex with her?”

Kankuro nodded.

“I can’t,” Gaara said quickly, shaking his head.

“Then you’ll always wonder what could have been,” Kankuro stated blandly. Gaara huffed exasperatedly. Kankuro scoffed at his brother’s stiffness on his suggestion. “You could at least kiss her. Those shitty girl magazines Temari sometimes reads all say the first kiss is all you need to know about a relationship.”

“Kiss her?” Gaara sneered. “How will that do anything?”

“You’ll feel the spark,” Kankuro replied as if Gaara should already know about that.

“The spark?”

“ _The spark_ , Gaara. Y’know, the feeling you get in your gut when you kiss a girl.” Kankuro paused, holding his hand up. “You _have_ kissed a girl, right?”

“Yes,” Gaara answered, hiding his eyeroll by closing his eyes.

Kankuro laughed with a shrug. “Then you should know. If you feel the spark with _‘Not Cordi_ ’ then you should explore it.”

Gaara pursed his lips, bitterly adding, “And what about my girlfriend?”

Kankuro puffed his cheeks, then asked, “Well, which one do you _like_ more?”

“I’m closer with my girlfriend,” Gaara answered,

Kankuro shook his head. “That’s not what I asked.”

Gaara frowned. “I don’t understand.”

Kankuro licked lips then said, “Naruto’s your best friend, right? You’re pretty close.”

Gaara nodded.

“But you don’t want to kiss _him_. Right?”

Gaara looked at his older brother horrified now at the suggestion.

Kankuro gestured with his hand as he argued, “Right. It can be like that with girls, too. Just because you’re friends doesn’t mean you’re sexually compatible.”

Gaara looked at him oddly, clearly confused by his brother’s explanation.

“Am I making any sense to you?”

Gaara shook his head negatively.

Kankuro frowned, muttering, “Maybe I’m just projecting.” Gaara raised an eyebrow at him curiously. Kankuro waved it off, explaining blandly, “There’s a girl I’ve been seeing recently, who’s in a relationship with a guy, who I think is in it for the wrong reasons.”

Gaara decided to ignore the part of Kankuro being the other man in a relationship. It wasn’t the first time Gaara knew of. There was that time a year and a half ago when Kankuro was caught in the woman’s closet by her boyfriend. Temari spent most of the next day screeching at the middle sibling, and thanking Gaara for not being a “debaucherous shit like Kankuro.” “Anyone I know?” Gaara asked equally blandly. It seemed like the right question to ask.

Kankuro’s eyes went wide for maybe a millisecond, then he shook his head. “No,” he answered, scratching his jaw, “You don’t know her.”

“So, you’re already over Fred, I’m guessing,” Gaara commented.

Kankuro scoffed. “Fred was a one-night stand.” Gaara narrowed his gaze at his older brother as Kankuro picked at his shoes reminiscently. “A wonderful, Earth-shattering one-night stand. I can honestly say it is one performance I will compare every other past or future performance to.” Gaara made a slightly disgusted face as he let out a small, disappointed and repulsed chuckle through his nose. Kankuro held up a finger as he said, “I swear, when I am older than Ebizo, I will probably mark that night as one of the best fucks I’ve ever had.”

“You’re just saying that because you caused an earthquake.”

“Yea, no shit,” Kankuro laughed. He held his hand up at Gaara in a way that told him to focus on what Kankuro was about to say. “I made a woman orgasm so hard it shook the world. No other man can claim that. Not even the strongest ninjas in the world could claim that. If I could tell my friends about it, I’d be their fucking god. _Literally._ ”

Gaara rolled his eyes. “But you’ve slept with this other woman since then.”

“Well, yeah,” Kankuro scoffed. “Fred’s in Konoha. I’m not waiting for her, and I know for damn sure she’s not waiting for me, either.” He settled back into the couch as he added, “Plus this thing with the other chick has been going on a lot longer. Well before we left for Konoha.”

“So, you cheated on her with Fred?”

“It’s not cheating if you’re not exclusive.” That just made Gaara confused. “She’s got a boyfriend, remember? He may be dating her for the wrong reasons, but…”

Gaara shrugged, deciding to ignore that. When relationships got that confusing, he tended to check-out of trying to make sense of it. He understood it, just not the logic of it. “And when you say her boyfriend is with her for the ‘wrong reasons’ you mean…”

“He clearly doesn’t like her,” Kankuro stated. “She’s just a placeholder for him. Someone to call his girlfriend for whatever reason, but not actually wanting to do any of the relationship stuff with her.”

“So, she substitutes it with you?” Gaara asked, skeptically. It still didn’t entirely seem logical to him.

Kankuro nodded.

Gaara frowned, realizing they’d gone on a tangent at some point, and lost track of the conversation. “What were we talking about?”

“You having a crush on Not-Cordi,” Kankuro answered, frowning as he tried to remember, “who is also not your girlfriend.”

“Right,” Gaara sighed, crossing his arms. He pursed his lips, realizing they never answered his pressing question on the subject. “So what do I do about that?”

Kankuro shrugged. “If you’re fantasizing about another woman, it’s usually because there’s something missing in your current relationship. Do you know what that is?”

Gaara pursed his lips further into a pensive scowl. “I think …” he started, digging deep in what was driving these fantasies. Trying to find a linking theme in them. “I think I want things to be a little more aggressive. Antagonistic, maybe?” He made a worried face at that, because that was stupid to want in a relationship.

Kankuro raised an eyebrow at that, and smirked. “ _Antagonistic_?”

“I don’t know.” Gaara blushed, admitting, “That might not be the right word. Maybe … Defiant?”

“Defiant?” Kankuro clarified, now a little more curious.

Gaara’s blush intensified. “Last time …” he paused, realizing he was about to admit something really personal about his relationship.

“Last time?” Kankuro asked when Gaara had been silent too long.

He decided if Kankuro was to give him the best advice, maybe providing the most details would help. “We haven’t … _had sex_ ,” he mumbled, but he could tell from Kankuro’s stare that he had his brother’s full attention. He felt the blush creeping up his neck to his cheeks again as he continued, “But the other day, my girlfriend was sucking on my …” he gulped back his nerves as he scratched his head, before gesturing to his groin, trailing off awkwardly and looking anywhere but his brother. He felt his knee jumping under the table with nerves at such a confession. But he needed the advice.

“She was giving you head?” Kankuro prodded. His smile giddy, like a kid on Rinne.

Gaara blushed further, “If … that’s what you call it.”

“Alright, Gaara,” Kankuro cheered with an air of respect.

“I couldn’t enjoy it,” Gaara blurted. In his periphery, he caught Kankuro’s face falling to a frown as he grumbled a small, “Oh.” Gaara pressed on, defending himself, “I tried to. She kind of surprised me with it. But, when I couldn’t get into it, I started thinking of the fantasies, which worked momentarily, until I realized I probably shouldn’t think about other women at that time, and I couldn’t be as rough as I wanted. I also don’t want to scare her by suggesting _I_ want to be rough.”

Kankuro leaned back, looking at the ceiling as he breathed, “Ri-ight.” Both of them were leaving the unspoken thought they shared in the air. _Most people think of Gaara as a changed man. But if **he** suggested being rough, their first thought would still probably be that he wanted to murder them._

Gaara grumbled past that thought, “And when I saw her crying, I couldn’t...”

Kankuro grimaced. “She cried?”

“Yeah,” Gaara winced. “It didn’t feel right.”

Kankuro chuckled, “I’d imagine not.”

“So, what do I do?”

“First, you should ask why your girlfriend was crying, because that’s not _normal_ ,” Kankuro answered matter-of-factly. “Then, if it’s not relationship-breaking, you need to tell your girlfriend about the other thing.”

“About me fantasizing about another woman?” Gaara gaped. Clearly, that was insane.

“Not about the other woman,” Kankuro clarified quickly, waving his hand dismissively. “About wanting your girlfriend to be a little defiant and antagonistic, and being a little rougher in the bedroom. If she’s not onboard, then that’s that. Move on.”

Gaara nodded blandly. “You think that will work?”

Kankuro shrugged. “I don’t know. Finding out why she was crying is definitely more imperative. Relationships can survive fantasies, but random unexplained crying during any sexual act is _never_ a good sign.”

Gaara sighed. He didn’t want to break up with Matsuri. He was still learning so much about relationships.

“On the plus side, if you’re suddenly single, then there’s no guilt in testing your fantasies out on someone new.” Kankuro smirked as he added mockingly, “We know Not-Cordi is definitely antagonistically defiant.”

Gaara turned away from his brother annoyedly, grumbling, “Shut up, Kankuro.” Kankuro just laughed, knowing he’d struck a nerve. Although, Gaara had to admit, Kankuro was right about being honest to Matsuri about his desires. He’d heard it and read it a thousand times. Honesty was the core of a good relationship.

*~*~*

Saturday in the Leaf Village was quiet. The girls had the day off from school and training, so Rox had gone out to do a little bit of grocery shopping. She’d already run out of her bath soap and agreed with Lynne and Fred that they needed to start eating more at the dorm. They were burning through their allowances too quickly going out like they were. Tonight she was cooking for her and Lynne. Fred explained she wanted to finish watching the show before she hung out, since their comments during school were getting annoying at how long it was taking her. And Ronnie? Well, Ronnie was spending too much time with Kiba to expect her to join them for dinner.

Lynne had gone to check on the dragons, so it was just Rox perusing the grocery story, racking her brain for some recipes she used to know. She hated to admit it, but she’d done mostly baking at home, rather than any substantial cooking.

As she checked the firmness of a tomato, she heard someone ask, “Did you like the flowers?”

One thing she did know. It wasn’t Shikamaru.

She turned and saw familiar silver-white hair and reddish-brown eyes. Akirama Senju. “You?” she blurted.

He scoffed. “Obviously. Did you think they were from someone else?”

She felt her heart drop a little at the realization. She hated knowing deep down that they were from Shikamaru when she knew he would never do something like that. She put the tomato back as she answered his first question, “Ehrm, they were lovely. Thank you.”

He fell in step alongside her, checking out some of the other fruit as he said, “I usually spring for orchids. I’m told most women think them height of beauty. But, you seemed like an iris type of woman.”

She gave a small agreeing hum. It was true. She did love irises.

It’s just she wanted them to be from Shikamaru.

“So, how about we get dinner sometime?” he asked. “Say, tomorrow at six?”

She huffed as she dropped her hand. “I’m sorry, Akirama. I just don’t know you well enough. I --”

“That’s what the date’s for,” he said congenially with a winning smile. “So we can get to know each other.”

She sighed. She knew if any of her friends were here, hearing her turning him down, they would asking her what her deal was. She could see he was attractive, and clearly interested in her. She just didn’t like feeling the pressure of a date and romance when she didn’t know a guy. It had been different with Shikamaru because she’d been watching him develop as a person for years.

Akirama wasn’t even in the show.

“I’m sorry,” she grumbled, “I’m just not romantically ready to date.”

He smiled and shook his head. “Who said anything about romance? I’m just asking you to dinner.” She heard the chuckle in his voice, and she shot him a pointed look. “Fine,” he conceded, holding his hands up in surrender. “Not a date. Just two people sharing a meal and getting to know one another.”

She made an inarticulate noise, not sure how to answer.

“Great,” he said, a cocky smile that surely made hearts melt. Rox’s almost did at the sight of it. “I’ll see you tomorrow at six.” And then he was gone.

She gasped, then huffed at herself, turning back to the fruit as she grumbled, “Well done, Rox.”

*~*~*

Ronnie met Kiba at the gates Saturday afternoon, and walked with him to get lunch. Konoha was bustling with the lively crowd any other sunny Saturday pulled out. As they made their way to the restaurant, they heard someone call out, “Hey, Kiba! What’s up?”

Kiba spun around with wide eyes, seeing someone Ronnie didn’t recognize. He wasn’t in the show. He had dark long hair tied in a low ponytail and rosy cheeks. “Koga!” Kiba greeted, “What’s up? How you been?”

“Oh, you know. Same old, same old,” the ninja chuckled. “I just got back from a mission in the Land of Fangs.”

“Right,” Kiba sighed, “I forgot you’ve got family from there.”

“Yeah, I got to see them for a bit. Stopped some bandits on the Daimyo’s road.” Koga’s dark eyes drifted toward Ronnie with a happy gleam. “So, is this Tamaki?” he asked, pointing towards Ronnie.

Ronnie blanched, recognizing the name from the other morning from Tsume’s warning. If Koga and Kiba were friends, how long ago was Tamaki? Ronnie originally thought the subject wasn’t worth the time, but maybe it was.

“Oh, no!” Kiba answered quickly, making a gesture that cut Koga off. “This is my girlfriend, Ronnie.”

Koga’s eyes were wide, lips pursed, clearly feeling awkward about his blunder as he murmured, “Oh.” After an uncomfortable moment of silence, he stuck his hand out and said, “Nice to meet you, Ronnie.”

“Koga, was it?” She grabbed his hand and shook it cordially.

He nodded awkwardly, before clearing his throat, scratching his head. “I’ll, uhm, I’ll catch up with you later,” he offered to Kiba, clearly trying to save some face. “Ronnie, nice to meet you.” Then he quickly made his escape.

Ronnie and Kiba stood silently for a moment, before Kiba began to pull her gently along back onto their path, stating, “Koga sat next to me at the ninja academy. He had to retake the course after the preliminary team test. But he joined a team in the Summer.”

“Oh,” Ronnie murmured, licking her lips and not really caring about Kiba’s history with Koga. After another long moment of awkward silence, Ronnie asked, “Who’s Tamaki?”

Kiba winced a little before shrugging off the question with a lax answer, “Oh, she was just a fling I had several months ago.”

Ronnie watched him as he stared forward, his brows knitted together. She wanted to press him on it, but something in the back of her mind told her not to. They still hadn’t had the exes talk, and she wasn’t ready to list off her indiscretions. It wasn’t that she was ashamed of her history, because she wasn’t. But she understood how going into full detail about her past exploits might make Kiba feel, especially since there was a possibility Tamaki was his only ex. They never went into his romantic history on the show, so she was flying somewhat blind.

In the end, she decided to drop it. She wouldn’t press for details. If he said Tamaki was his ex, she’d believe him.

**AN:** Sorry this has taken so long to get out. I know, it is much shorter than usual. I ended up having to split this chapter in half because I realized I had a small hiccup in a few of the romantic plotlines, and needed to add stuff in for them. That, and I have one section that cannot be split in the next chapter that’s easily 12-15 pages.

On top of that, shortly after I posted my last chapter, we got news that my husband was losing his job to Covid (the airline he worked for went under), and after a few months of searching, he finally found a job … 500+ miles away from where we lived. So, now we’re in the tail-end of a huge move, and I’d be lying if I said moving didn’t sap up all my creative juices. I’d literally sit down at my computer to write, then get immediately distracted by looking at first apartments, then houses, in our new town. Not to mention the crap we had to do to get our house ready to sell. It’s been a gauntlet, and I’m excited to be officially done with it in another month or so.


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